A Shadow's Game
by destinoscelgo
Summary: AU- Elena returns to Mystic Falls six years after her near death experience when Rebekah caused Matt to drive off of the bridge. Confident now that Mystic Falls is Original free, Elena makes one mistake that will change her life forever, and only one person is able to save her.
1. Prologue

_Authors Note: Okay guys, this was a random thought that came to my mind today so I decided to play it out…setting a few years in the future. I would __**really **__ appreciate it if everyone read it and reviewed so I know if I should continue or not. I'm still working on __**Even in Death**__ but I will be able to do both, but I won't if I don't see a lot of people enjoying this when I can focus on my other fic =)_

_This was written in a span of a half hour but if I continue it, I will go through and re-do the prologue so no worries lol_

_Ps this is going to be an Elena Elijah fic and for now I will rate __**T**_

_Please let me know what you think!_

* * *

Prologue

"All right guys I'll see you later!"

Elena waved goodbye to her friends as they left the Grill to celebrate her 24th birthday. They never got to see each other as often since Elena was away at college in California, Caroline had an internship with some magazine in New York, and Bonnie stayed in Mystic Falls…mostly trying to keep the supernatural at bay.

As she walked through The Grill parking lot, Elena reminisced about the good times she had at Mystic Falls.

She remembered her fun high school times with her friends mostly, since that was all the fun she could remember.

Everything else about her time in Mystic Falls had been surrounded by the death of her loved ones.

She remembered the accident on the bridge where she lost her parents, she remembered losing Aunt Jenna just over a year later, she remembered Bonnie losing Grams, Vicki's death, her birth mother, and Uncle Jon.

Naturally she couldn't forget about Alaric.

There were so many deaths here…

There was a part of her that missed it still, but that part of her was overshadowed by the hatred, the regret.

Elena contemplated visiting the Salvatores during her short stay, but she couldn't bring herself to it.

She had almost died that last night.

They almost didn't save her; they were going to allow her to die, just so she could be with them forever.

That was not what she wanted.

Elena propped herself on the hood of her car, thinking about where her life had taken her. She was a college student now, and even though she had taken a few years off to get herself settled in California she was going to graduate with her Bachelor's degree in English Literature.

She was going to be a writer.

While looking at the stars, she laughed to herself slightly.

_A Bachelor's degree_ she shook her head. _What an improvement_.

She considered calling Bonnie, hoping maybe she could stay at her house for the night. She missed their girl talk.

She considered calling Caroline, and asking If she wanted company on the flight back to New York, she had the entire weekend free and she had money saved up.

She could use the break.

With a huff, Elena hopped into her rental and decided to go for a drive.

There was an odd beauty about Mystic Falls, she wasn't about to let it go to waste.

Bonnie told her she didn't have to worry about the Originals anymore, they all seemed to have left town after she desiccated Klaus.

_Klaus_

Her blood boiled at the thought of the Original hybrid that nearly ruined her life.

_She would never forget all of the lives he had ended in her name. All because he had to have the doppelganger._

Elena drove close to the bridge, but had to stop, the memories of her past crashing into her like the rush of water that nearly took her life.

_Elena!_

_Elena!_

_She felt a cold slap across her face. Elena opened her eyes to see Jeremy staring at her with worry._

"_What happened?" she grumbled, struggling to get up._

"_No Elena, keep your head down." It was Doctor Fell_

The flashback went away nearly as quickly as it came, leaving Elena angrier than before.

Damon and Stefan had told the doctor to let her die.

She had vampire blood in her system after all. Luckily Meredith wasn't about to let it happen, and gave her more blood instead…thus saving her life.

_At least…that's how Jeremy put it._

Elena wasn't sure what the truth was.

Would the Salvatores really allow her to die?

She had always brushed it off as then just not caring enough about her humanity.

They could have saved her; instead they almost let her die.

Elena turned her car around and drove onto the highway.

She was going to drive a bit more. Then she was going to go home to California, and live her life to the fullest.

That will show them.

* * *

Elena had only been driving on the main road for a half hour, listening to her music, checking out how much Mystic Falls had always remained frozen in time.

This town would never change.

She pulled over when she saw a man on the side of the road holding onto his chest writhing in pain.

"Hey, are you okay?" She stepped out of the car, ready to go and help him.

"Please! Call 9-1-1 I've been shot!" Elena ran to him, she had seen enough episodes of ER to have an idea of what to do until they arrived…right?

"Okay I'm here, hold on."

She hadn't dialed the police yet.

She approached the man, but never got to see his face and she went to put pressure on the wound that should have been there.

It was only blood.

"Thanks for that" he growled as he bit into his wrist.

_Oh no!_

Elena knew all too well what this would mean. She tried to get up, but she knew he was too fast for her.

"No! Please!" She silently begged

_Not again!_

The stranger, who's voice she had not recognized, who's face she couldn't see forced his blood down her throat.

She couldn't fight him, it was too late.

"Perfect" the man growled again like an animal, this time with more conviction than before.

She felt her life slip away as he suffocated her.

He was going to make her feel this pain.

He wanted to watch her die.

* * *

All right that's the prologue! Let me know what you guys think please please please =)

While you are at it you should all check out **Because of You **and **Even in Death** my other two stories =)

Ps forgot to add, I do not own the Vampire Diaries or it's characters. I just always loved playing with dolls as a child =)


	2. Exodus

Chapter One

Exodus

In darkness. Elena found her two worlds colliding.

She never expected it to be like this. She had always thought that it would be more peaceful.

Death, that is.

She laid in a paralyzed state of consciousness, her body forever changing. She could feel it twitching, but not on the outside.

On the outside, Elena was only a corpse, left to rot in the ground.

_Wait…I'm not in the ground_

Elena couldn't see what was happening, her eyes were glued shut in death and where she expected to sleep into her own dream land, she was unable to.

Her soul clung on for dear life, struggling for survival.

_Just as she had not long ago…_

Her memory had faded, all she could remember was the shadow of a man that she tried to save.

_Why couldn't she save him?_

She felt her heart plunge into the depths of her chest, now so much heavier than before.

She could feel so much more now, in fact she felt everything.

_Wake up Elena. This is all a dream._

She knew it wasn't.

She could feel her brain dying, she could feel her body become cold as death greeted it happily.

What she didn't understand is why she hadn't gone to heaven or hell yet.

There was a piece of her memory she had lost.

_The man in with the shadow,_ she remembered angrily. Her mind jumping back and forth rapidly, trying to keep up with her coming existence.

She was stuck in limbo because he had turned her…or had tried to.

Shouldn't she have come back by now?

_I don't understand_. Elena wanted to pinch herself awake so that she could scream for help.

_Maybe someone can help me._

She remembered the anger she felt towards Damon, who had been the one who almost allowed her to die, just so he could selfishly keep her by his side for the rest of his miserable existence.

Stefan hadn't tried to stop him either.

_Forget them Elena. You have your own problems._

The voice in the back of her mind was overpowering. Soon she was able to feel her body begin to twitch again; coming back to life, but with the twitch came the burn.

Elena screamed as she sat up rapidly, seeing where there was once darkness, was now a blinding sunlight. She could feel her skin begin to burn as she screamed in agonizing pain. Thinking quickly, she ran to her car, faster than ever before, amazing herself. Thankfully, Elena kept a blanket in the backseat just in case she had to sleep in the car during this trip. She dove under the blanket, panting heavily, finally able to think. She was trapped, and it was morning.

_What is happening to me?_

She wanted to cry out in pain, but she knew how hungry she was, she knew how vampires were.

She couldn't get the thought of blood out of her mind.

Recalling what she knew about new born vampires, she remembered she would need to feed, and she would need to feed soon in order to complete the transition.

_How soon? _

_Do I want to transition?_

_I should allow myself to die._

The thoughts ran through her mind, she couldn't make the decision. She reached for her cell phone, hoping to be able to call Caroline for help, but when she reached for it, it wasn't there.

_I must have dropped it_ she thought angrily.

Elena groaned inwardly, still trying to fight off the urge to feed.

_Just sleep…_

A voice in her mind whispered, the voice was her own…coaching her through it all.

_You have time Elena, you will make it by night fall. Sleep child._

Elena grumbled to herself. There was something peaceful about hearing her own voice at this time.

Something soothing.

So Elena slept in the backseat of her car, covered by a blanket.

_Sleep._

* * *

When the moon rose, Elena rose with it almost as if by instinct.

Her eyes gazed at the new world before her, everything was so powerfully overwhelming.

There were no lights on portion of the road, which wasn't a problem for Elena, who could see everything clearly.

_You need to feed _a voice said in her mind. _Feed, child._

Elena tried to shake off the feeling; it wasn't just the voice that was demanding that she fed, it was her body.

_Her body didn't want to die._

_Her instincts did not want her to die._

Elena roamed the street for a while, not realizing that she may have been doing so subconsciously, looking for prey. Her eyes scanned the roads noticing every single imperfection, every single piece of gravel. She could see the parts in the road that the road workers had painted over, and each separate line that the brushes created. She could hear the breeze and felt it through her hair, throughout her pores.

The world is so beautiful when there is no one else around.

She realized that she came to a small parking area, most likely for truck drivers.

She could smell the booze and drugs coming from one small car, parked alone.

Her senses tingled intrigued.

_Go on Elena. Just a taste_

Elena shook her head, in argument to herself.

_Nobody said you had to kill them…_

Elena knew the voice was right, she realized her feet were bringing her closer.

By the time she was next to the window she saw three people sitting inside, the windows fogged. Seeing past the fog just enough, she could see them sitting back, two men and one woman all of them probably around her age.

_The age she would be forever._

The woman had her head bent into one of the man's lap, Elena knew what was happening so she had to turn away.

_Get a room_ she sighed. Even while she was in college she kept to herself most of the time only having one boyfriend.

_Corey_ she remembered, she had just broken it off with him before she left. She caught him cheating on her with a freshman.

_Pig_ she thought to herself with anguish.

Elena shook the feelings of Corey out of her mind, her temper raising, she was getting hungrier now.

She was startled when she heard the window of the car drop.

She turned to see the young man who was not being taken care of staring at her from the backseat.

"Care to join us pretty lady?" He slurred his words, and the smell of the alcohol burned Elena's nostrils.

Disgusted, disturbed and most of all angry Elena had lost it.

"Excuse me?" she snapped

_Do it Elena._

"You heard me lady." The man unzipped his pants in front of her, the couple in the front seemed to not be fazed.

_Elena…kill him. Nobody is going to miss that scum._

Elena couldn't hold back any longer, it was as if for a moment a demon took over, telling her she should kill was one thing, now it was forcing her to do so.

_I thought they said my qualities would be enhanced. I am not a murderer _she thought as she yanked the man from the car screaming.

_Only if you choose._

Elena could feel her fangs protrude from her gums, causing an almost burning sensation. She dug them into the man's neck and allowed his blood to flow down her throat.

_This is perfect._

She could hear the screams of his companions, but they ran away.

_Get to them later Elena. They won't get far._

She drank for only a few moments, that is how long it took for her to finish this body, and ripped her teeth out, taking a chunk of his neck with her.

She started towards the other two, who were now cowering in fear when she turned to her first victim, who's neck was only half connected to his shoulders.

She ripped him apart.

_Don't stop now Elena, they might tell someone what happened. _The voice spoke again…back in her mind.

_I can compel them_ she thought, convincing herself it was the right thing to do.

_Where is the fun in that?_

Elena wanted to fight the monster inside of her, but she was too weak.

Elena had never been so alone, and while basking in it's solitude, she was gone.

She bared her fangs again, wondering what her eyes looked like surrounded by black veins.

The man and woman were on the ground now, awaiting for the creature to pounce.

_Stop this!_ Elena cried to herself, she tried to fight it, but she couldn't.

* * *

_**A/N Thank you all for the reviews on the first chapter =) **_

_**This story is taking a bit of a dark turn for now. I wanted to explore Elena's ability to be a "Ripper" and play around a bit with her transition, I know it is a bit OOC for her, (and I am sure many will dislike it)but that's why I threw in her fighting her "instinct" as I call it. The real Elena is still in there, it's just going to be a matter of time before she comes out to play so to speak.**_

_**Next chapter I am going to probably show some Damon/Stefan scenes, we will see what happens!**_

_**Please review and tell me what you think! All of your thoughts are appreciated!**_


	3. Identity Crisis

_**These first two chapters were pretty short, because I am still playing with the idea of this entire story. Once I gain firmer ground here they will be longer I promise so please stick around!**_

_**Also please review! I really enjoy reading what everyone thinks of my this one because I feel like it is a bit out of the "norm", which is why I am exploring the idea.  
**_

* * *

Chapter Two

Identity Crisis

* * *

Stefan Salvatore always enjoyed his own solitude. He considered it to be the only place that he could think clearly, without his elder brother's bantering going on In the back of his mind.

It was mid-afternoon, but he always kept himself locked in the house. There were certain people who began to question why the younger Salvatore brother looked as if he was still seventeen years old.

It has been six years after all.

Stefan preferred his silence to those questions at any time. Once in a while he would venture on to the Grill where he would run into Bonnie, who was a friend, even after everything they went through.

Deep down, he knew she had never forgiven Stefan for not helping Elena, but what's done is done. If there is one thing he has learned about being a vampire, it is that you cannot dwell on the past.

Stefan went throughout his day writing in his journal and doing pointless things around the house. Nobody ever came to see them anymore, so the house had become a bit of a clutter.

He was snapped back from his writing when he heard the front door slam shut.

"Brother!"

With a sigh, Stefan got up from the living room couch to greet Damon, who looked stressed.

"What's wrong Damon?" he asked, not entirely caring. The two have had a tedious relationship the past few years; they acted more as roommates than anything.

"We have a problem." His older brother leaned against the coffee table, a look of fire shining in his ice blue eyes.

_Well…solitude can't last forever…right?_

"What kind of problem Damon?" he rushed his brother to the point. Damon would get bored sometimes, taking the slightest thing and turning into a dramatic spectacle.

"Well...you can start by telling me what you were doing last night." His brother's tone was stern, and accusing.

"I've been home Damon. I rarely leave and you know that." Stefan pointed out coolly.

Damon didn't want to accept this answer, but he had no other choice. Instead, the elder Salvatore continued.

"Three bodies were found at a trucker's stop right at the start of the highway."

Stefan nodded, motioning with his hands for his brother to continue.

"Stefan, they were completely drained of blood." He stated gravely.

"Okay…sounds like a vampire problem. What's your point?" the younger brother was beginning to get agitated.

"My point being is that's not it. Their throats were practically ripped off. Their heads were hanging by a thread to their bodies Stefan…"

Stefan stood now, a true concerned look on his face.

"Have you spoken to Bonnie?" he asked, looking his older brother straight in the eyes.

Damon shook his head.

"No, I wanted to make sure you didn't go off the deep end or anything first."

"Well it wasn't me, thanks for the vote of confidence" he snapped, "Call Bonnie, this vampire could be in Mystic Falls."

"Or leaving Mystic Falls." Damon offered with a bit of hope.

"Wherever this vampire is going it is a danger to everyone Damon. We need to kill it." Stefan's voice was firm. He had his own town to protect, it was one thing if the vampire could mingle in society, but a ripper would never stop.

He would know that better than anyone, he still has those urges. He still heard the voice calling him in the back of his mind.

Damon couldn't help but agree.

"So what do you guys have a 'ripper database' or something so we can figure out who this is?"

Stefan shook his head, he thought the only way to find out who it was, was to find them. The only way to find them is to follow the trail of bodies it left behind.

"We wait." Stefan responded coldly, while Damon scowled.

"Wait? For what? Another body to drop?"

Stefan shrugged, he didn't like the plan either, but that didn't mean they had other choices.

"All right brother, grab your stuff. We are going to follow whoever it is."

Elena managed to reach the next town over without getting burned by the sun.

_You can always compel a witch to make you a daylight ring._

The newborn vampire shook her head, only being able to be out at night would minimize any damage she may cause.

She carried on until she reached a crappy motel. Stumbling in, she approached the clerk, her eyes black with hunger.

"Ma-Maam are you okay?" the receptionist asked, frightened.

Elena nodded, giving a slight nod.

"_You are going to give me a room" _The voice in her mind directed, Elena's mouth copying the words. Now Elena could feel her instinct take over, her hunger becoming overwhelming again. It had only been three hours since she had fed, and she had no idea when she would be able to make the feeling subside.

"_Then…you are going to take a lunch break and join me."_

Now realizing she was compelling the woman, Elena shook her head.

"No really it's okay you don't have to! I just need a room" She spoke rapidly, hoping she was taking away the woman's compulsion.

Elena took out her wallet to offer the woman money, but she had already given her a key.

"Room 24, take the first left down the hallway. " She spoke like a robot, her tone flat.

_It's too late. You'll be fine. You need to feed, now get to that room, you have a half hour before sunrise._

Elena walked briskly to her room and opened the door, the smell of must, bad perfume and mold taking over her nostrils. She placed her bag down at sat on the bed, she could practically smell the amount of people who have had sex on it.

"Elena…what the hell has happened to you?" she buried her face In her hands and wanted to cry. She could feel her insides being ripped apart by her own emotions, she could feel herself ready to rip apart the next thing that came through her.

"Has this always been a part of me?" she wondered aloud, hoping no one could hear her.

_No, Elena. You just allowed it to happen._

Not ready to start being crazy enough to argue with herself, Elena got up and closed the shades, making the room as dark as possible.

The newborn vampire, now only two days turned, sat in her own silence, unable to sleep. Her thoughts travelled to the events leading to her death.

She wondered if the vampire who changed her recognized her, and used her as a way to get back at the Salvatores, or worse, Klaus was returned to his body after she left. She wondered if Bonnie neglected to tell her that important piece of information, and the Original hybrid was taking his revenge out on her.

Her thoughts were broke by the sound of a knock on the door.

_Room service._

Elena hugged the wall closer, not wanting to open the door.

_Just open it Elena._

The young vampire wouldn't speak, she had forgotten about her accidentally compelling the clerk to meet her up here.

_I am not killing again _she thought with anger.

_Why not? _ Her instinct argued back, _You are so much stronger when you do so._

Elena shook her head crying out, when she heard the key go into the door.

She could hear the woman's hear beating slowly, she was not afraid, even though Elena knew she should be.

"Miss?" the woman called, by then Elena had hidden herself on the other side of the bed. "Miss I'm here, what would you like?"

_Just do it Elena. You need to feed._

" I would rather die" she whispered to herself quietly

_Well…I will not allow that to happen. _

Elena had lost herself again, as she stood up with a smile.

"Oh yes…I'm sorry, I'm a bit hungry."


	4. Chasing Ghosts

_**I just want to make sure I point out to everyone, thank you SO much for your reviews! I was not expecting this kind of response at all!**_

_**On another note, I believe I should change this story to rated M due to future chapters. Elena is going through quite an adventure in her head right now so it's not going to be pretty.**_

_**Also no worries! I know this is labled as an EE fic...time will come trust me ;) Be patient and as always let me know what you think with the reviews! I love/appreciate every single one of them!**_

* * *

Chapter Three

Chasing Ghosts

The Salvatores followed the unknown vampire's trail of bodies, unable to catch up.

When they made it to the first motel, they had to compel their way to the room, both surprised to see it was entirety covered in blood.

"Brother…have you spoken to Bonnie about all of this?" Damon asked, eyeing the room carefully. Stefan nodded, circling the window, where the shades were still drawn.

"I did, she is making some phone calls to other witches." He stated clearly, "Damon, I don't think this vampire has a daylight ring." The younger brother pointed to the drawn curtains, and then to the only clean spit in the room, right behind the bed.

"So what? You think we are dealing with a new vampire then?"

Stefan shook his head,

"Most of the time they don't just leave those they turn. At least they try and get their blood lust under control first.."

Damon nodded in agreement. It was unlikely a vampire would just turn someone and run. Without keeping the new vampire in some control, they risked exposing themselves and the entire vampire community. As far as the two brothers could tell, they were dealing with a ripper, not a fledgling. Knowing this now, after seeing the disaster before them, they knew it was unlikely they would be able to help whoever it was causing the damage.

The brothers left the motel and quickly moved on to the next town where they may stop. It was morning now, so they knew that the hunted was hiding from the sun.

* * *

They searched for the ripper for weeks now, trying their hardest to catch up but they were always one step behind. For someone who didn't know they were being followed (so they assumed since they were still adding to the body count) they were doing a really good job at evading them. They only drove at night, knowing that those were the only times the ripper would be staying in one place.

"So, Bonnie told me that Elena was in town." Said Stefan during a moment of silence while Damon drove, he said it more as a question for his brother, rather than a statement. Nobody had told him that his old flame had returned to Mystic Falls, not that it mattered much. The two hadn't seen each other in the six years since Elena decided to graduate high school early and leave town rather than deal with the Salvatores.

"Yeah, her birthday was a couple of weeks ago, remember?" Damon responded, the brother pulled into a hotel right on the border of North Carolina and Georgia. They had been following this vampire southward it seemed, but their path was erratic, so it was hard to predict which was next. They spent most of their time paying visits to any motel or hotel they could since that seemed to be the only common factor.

"Of course I remember. Did you see her?" the younger brother asked.

Damon shook his head.

"You know how she feels about us now Stefan." His response was sharp, "Bonnie threatened to turn me into a toad if I stepped anywhere near the Grill that night."

The younger brother laughed, knowing that with Bonnie saying that, it wasn't a joke.

The brothers remained in the parking lot of their next stop, scanning the area for any signs of death rolling around, and talking. They hadn't spoken much in the past few years once again allowing Elena to come in between them, but now, locked in the car together, they were able to sit and talk like brothers.

There was always something about tragedy that could reunite people.

* * *

Elena could hardly breathe.

As soon as the sun set, the vampire fled the dingy motel, leaving behind her, her own wake of destruction. She was fighting her own race against time, knowing that even though she had compelled everyone she could it would never be enough.

The newborn vampire ran for weeks after she dumped her old car, yet one more way to dispel the humanity that used to be a part of her, and compelled a man at the nearest rental shop to give her a new one. She acted as if she was losing someone, she just didn't know who.

_Come on now, let's have fun!_

Elena's instincts were getting stronger each day now. Each time they would take over, forcing her to feed making it that much more difficult to push away the want, the need for human blood.

There were times when she would look through her eyes, as if watching a movie in the first person point of view, as she fed on the helpless bodies of men and women from the surrounding counties. She watched as, with her own bare hands, tore out their throats in her own angst for more.

In the beginning, she was able to find it disgusting; she would be able to feel their pain as their blood flowed through her body, giving her the life she did not deserve.

She was even able to apologize before she went in for the kill, but that was the only control she had.

As little time passed, Elena was no longer able to cry out, begging herself to stop the disaster before her as she tore into yet another body.

Another innocent human being.

_Please. You don't need to do this! _She would cry out, but she could only hear it in her mind.

It was through her own eyes that Elena witnessed the true horrors she had never imagined, even after all she had been through years before, play out before her. She knew she would never be able to forget the faces of those she murdered, their blood covering her hands, soaking into the pores of her skin.

They were becoming a part of her. She was the truest of monsters now, and for that she had wanted to die.

As it would go, however, the second she made her decision to kiss the sun, her primal needs took over, overpowering her morality.

Overpowering her.

"We are going to have so much fun." Elena whispered, looking into a hotel room mirror at herself, examining her body as if in a brand new light.

Her eyes were still black, covering up the slightest of crow's feet that had appeared over the last six years of aging, really the only sign that those years had passed at all. She smiled, her fangs still showing, as she played with her hair giving herself a good once-over in the blood splattered mirror.

Being twenty four years old now had not harmed Elena's beauty, and once she became a vampire, she realized that she could use that to her own advantage.

_If Katherine can do it, why can't I?_

The vampire left the room in shambles, looking as if a child had gone to town spinning a paintbrush filled with crimson colored pain around the room, getting it across the walls and the furniture.

_It is too messy here. _She thought, looking back to her own work, a sense of pride surrounding her.

Elena hopped into her new car, a red Chevy impala, pulled out of the parking lot, and off the next exit, off the highway. This was the first time she had done this, but decided she wanted to switch things up a bit now.

"This vampire is going to make some house calls." She sang to herself.

_No! You can't do this!_

Ignoring her annoying innocence, Elena pushed the thought away, only picking up speed.

The primal part of her was always stronger.

* * *

Pulling up to a small farmhouse, Elena hopped out of the car and took in the breath of the crisp, fresh night time air.

"Still a couple of hours. " she whispered to herself stretching her arms over her head.

The vampire, still young at barely three weeks turned, had taught herself the scent of morning in it's approach. She wasn't about to let herself burn, she was going to survive…and she was going to be damn good at it.

Elena smiled when she saw a light on in the kitchen, it was three am and someone was having a late night snack it seemed, and it wasn't her…yet.

Knocking quietly, she could hear the gasp of surprise from the other side of the door. She could also hear the woman's heart racing…pumping blood through her system.

_Please don't do this._

_Sorry…but I am hungry, again._

Elena knew she needed this, it was this part of it all that she was enjoying the most. For years, she had always been the one being hunted. Now it was her turn to be the hunter.

Elena's eyes lit when she heard the large door open, luckily she had cleaned herself off first, and looked helpless as she wore a baggy sweatshirt and jeans she had stolen from a nearby thrift shop. Something about crappy clothes makes you seem less threatening and of course less memorable.

Not that she ever allowed anyone who saw her to live.

"Ca-Can I help you?" a middle aged woman had opened the door just a crack to see Elena staring back at her. The vampire approached more closely, but was unable to see into her eyes clear enough to compel her.

She took a look at the future victim, who seemed to be wearing a pink bathrobe and slippers, the smell of strong coffee was seeping through the door.

"I'm sorry, my car is on empty and I saw your light on." She responded, being quick on her feet. She had hoped to just be able to compel the woman and have a good evening, but not everything could go her way. "I lost my cell phone a while back and I need to call my boyfriend to bring me some gas."

The woman stepped back, still eyeing her carefully, and opened the door completely, but still leaving the screen door locked in between them.

Elena returned her stares with an embarrassed half-wave.

"I just need to use your phone." She spoke with an innocent tone, " _If you would please invite me into your home, _ that would be wonderful."

The woman stared at her, her eyes widening and pupils dilated as she succumbed to her compulsion as she unlocked the screen door and stepped to the side.

"Please…come in." she spoke with a flat tone.

_Please! I beg of you!_

Elena shrugged past the woman, as she whispered to herself, "I am beginning to like this town a little bit more already."

* * *

**The Next Day**

It wasn't difficult for Stefan and Damon to follow the ripper's tracks. There were witches in each town, and they all called Bonnie when something like this happened.

The witch herself was relieved that her closest friends were all out of this vicious killer's path of destruction, with Caroline being in New York again, and Elena headed back to California. Even Jeremy, after graduating from high school, joined the police department in Maryland. He wanted to get far away from the vampires as quickly as possible.

That thought eased her worries, but made her feel that much more lonesome. All of her friends had left her in Mystic Falls.

Bonnie, to her own dismay, received another call, this one from a witch she had only met once, Isla.

"Good morning sister." The southern belle's voice drawled on the other line.

"Good morning Isla, I assume this isn't a social call?" Bonnie wasn't in the mood for pleasantries when bad news was right on the horizon.

"No, though I wish it was. Are you sure your vampires are going to do what they need to do here?"

It wasn't a common practice for witches to trust vampires.

"Trust me. They are just struggling to get ahead of this one." Bonnie replied bluntly, "Which motel now?"

There was a brief pause on the other end.

"Not a motel. This time it got into someone else's home."

Bonnie gasped, if the vampire was changing course now, there was no telling what it was going to do next.

"Where?"

The witch quickly wrote down an address in Georgia and hung up, calling Damon right away.


	5. Dance with the Devil

**_AN: So as promised, finally bringing Elijah into the mix!  
_**

**_Enjoy and let me know what you think with in some reviews!  
_**

**_Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Diaries  
_**

* * *

_Chapter Four_

_Dance with the Devil_

The Salvatores arrived at the address Bonnie called in two hours after getting off the phone with her. They had to rush, the witches were beginning to grow impatient , this one had been a close friend to Isla's coven.

The only reason they had not intervened before was because they assumed the vampires would be able to track one of their own better, and they did not want to get their hands dirty.

Now they were preparing themselves for war.

Thankfully, the police had not been called yet, since it was another witch who discovered the maimed family.

"Hello" she greeted the brothers when they arrived. The sun was burning onto her bleach blonde hair, making it shine enough to draw attention away from her tear streaked face. This was not a memory she would ever forget.

Introductions were kept short, only giving her name, Sophia.

She led the brothers into the large colonial while mumbling about not needing an invitation and then apologizing for the mess.

"Are you all right?" Stefan asked, concerned. He knew it was a stupid question to ask, but she seemed completely displaced.

The witch sniffled and nodded weakly.

"I just…I have never seen something so horrible."

The brothers hadn't made it to the room yet, but they could smell the copious amounts of blood, they had a feeling they were going to have to agree.

"Why don't you go outside?" Damon instructed the woman, who began to sob uncontrollably. He looked to his brother, who nodded, leading Sophia out the door.

Damon crossed the thresh hold, into the kitchen where the massacre occurred. He stared in disgust as he surveyed the room. One body was sprawled across the island counter, the man, presumably the husband was still staring at him with his cold, dead eyes even though his head was practically detached. A middle aged woman lay on the floor completely naked, and even though her head was still partially intact besides the bite marks the rest of her body was covered in deep bite wounds, each one seemed to leave a chunk of skin taken out of her. Only a small pool of blood surrounded her body, touching the pink bathrobe that had been tossed to the side.

_It made him watch. _Damon realized, repulsed by the thought. Even during his own ventures in his "darker times" Damon never considered forcing someone to watch. Stefan on the other hand, was more likely to enjoy something of that sort, which is precisely why he was not in the room.

He had no idea what would drive someone to do something this horrific, even if he had seen it done before. What he did know was that whatever did do this, was no man or woman.

This was a pure monster.

The elder Salvatore peered his head over the island to where the body of a young teenage girl lay crumpled on the ground. He approached her and rolled her to face him, her eyes still stricken with fear, and her face was covered in her own blood. He examined all of the holes on her wrists, neck and shoulders and saw that other than the blood on her face, she was completely drained of blood.

He wiped away some of the blood from around her eyes, and stared in horror as he saw just how much her features resembled Elena' each shared the same big brown eyes, and their long hair.

He mourned the family silently for only a moment, when he heard the slightest cry coming from upstairs.

With his rapid speed, Damon was up the stairs in no time. Once he hit the top, he could hear the cries louder, they were little sobs that would come from a child.

"Hello?" he called, half apprehensive, but also partially excited.

_There haven't been any survivors._

He walked down the hallway, following the small sounds, and stopped near a hallway closet which is where he heard them originating from.

He could hear a little gasp as he stood before the door, kneeling down to the ground.

"It's all right." Damon whispered before opening the door. "I am opening the door now, I am here to help."

Slowly, the vampire turned the knob , opening the door. He poked his head in slightly to see a small boy curled up into a ball, hiding in the corner. He was crying into an over sized teddy bear.

"Uh….Stefan!" Damon called to his brother, who appeared by his side in an instant, scaring the boy.

"Wha-" his younger brother stared in shock at the boy, who seemed untouched besides some blood on his hands, most likely from running downstairs.

This monster managed to leave the child alone.

The brothers coaxed the boy out of the closet and quickly took him outside not allowing him to see the massacre in his kitchen a second time.

"Aiden!" Sophia called when they placed him down on the grass, wrapping him in her arms. Getting a better look at him, the child must have only been about five years old.

_He is going to need some serious therapy._

Damon regretted having to separate the two, but explained the importance of needing answers to the witch, apologizing for once.

"Aiden..." he sat in front of the boy, looking him directly in the eyes, "_Tell me everything you remember about the person who did this._" He had to compel the boy, knowing he could very well have already blocked memories, or he could accidentally leave out details through the tears.

The boy stopped crying, now under compulsion.

"A woman came to the door, it was really late. I heard Mama talking to her from my room. She said….her car needed gas?" he began mechanically. "Mama would never have invited her in, but she did. She walked right in, I watched from my door, she didn't see me. I saw her though." He pointed to the upstairs window where his bedroom was, he would have been able to see the front door from his bedroom, if he was looking.

Damon cut off the boy.

"She? Describe her to me."

"She had long brown hair, really big eyes…they were…brown. But then her face got funny. She looked so evil." He began to cry again, regardless of his compulsion. "Mama and Daddy wouldn't stop screaming. Michelle is dead! She ate them all!"

The boy was unable to speak anymore, and Damon knew he wouldn't be able to get anything else from him…even if he did know something.

" Aiden_…_ _It was an evil man who did this to your family, but you only heard him. You did not see him_." He compelled the boy again, who nodded while Sophia wrapped him in her arms again.

"He will live with me." She stated, both brothers nodding. Damon didn't realize Stefan had rejoined him. He looked incredibly uncomfortable.

"We have a problem brother."

Stefan looked to his older brother, he had just returned from removing all evidence of them being in the house.

"What is it Damon?"

"Katherine is back."

* * *

Elena was bored.

She knew that by now, if she hadn't already, she was being followed.

_Just let them catch you._

Maybe she should cool down a bit, but when she considered this, she realized she was having too much fun.

When she was human, Elena's power had always been her own life. If she threatened to kill herself, she could get whatever it was she needed.

Hell, she killed an Original that way.

Her blood gave life to Klaus' hybrids, so they needed her. She brought life to what everyone else wanted from her.

Now, Elena was a death bringer, dancing around her prey like dolls.

She wouldn't deny she enjoyed it.

"Would you like more my love?"

Elena snapped out of her daydream by a male voice, one that she had almost forgotten. It was daylight again, and this time she found herself in a much nicer hotel rather than a "pay for by the hour motel". Throughout the daylight hours she would get so bored, and instead of fighting with the annoying amount of innocence in the back of her mind, she decided to bring along a companion this time around.

She smiled at her newest companion, whom she had aptly named Pet. She examined him again, knowing that he would be able to keep her satisfied in more ways than one.

Her eyes darted around the room with it's dark shades blocking the light, but still casting shadows , ill-fated as they were, against the walls. She even glanced at her companion's shadow, recalling fondly of her compulsion of him.

_When did I become Damon?_ The voice of innocence was beginning to fade to where it had hardly become a whisper now.

_When I decided to have some fun with my new self._

Elena knew her humanity was dying, and while a part of her wanted to fight to keep it alive, the stronger part…the primal part of her kept it down.

She looked up again, now escaping her thoughts, a practice she had begun to master during her fights against her humanity, and she could feel her senses tingling.

_I love how being a vampire makes __everything__ a turn on._

Elena growled, pulling the practically naked man towards her, her fangs extended as she tossed him to the bed and jumped on top of him.

He willingly allowed her to feed on her, or so he thought. After all, he was the one who approached her at a bar actually begging to sleep with her as they danced. She merely wanted to have a little fun in the process. Besides, she had no idea how erotic it was for her to feed (enjoyable as that was) while someone else was inside of her.

_You are turning into Katherine._

The voice rang in her mind as the man entered her. Elena groaned, digging her fangs into his neck sucking each time he thrust deeper. She would bite down harder, bringing him to moan in ecstasy, his body covered in sweat and now blood was dripping down his chest.

By the time Elena released him, he had his fill, and she was all right with it. He had gone longer than others and was still able to move slight enough to roll onto his back. She could tell he was weakened immensely and would probably die.

She was done with this toy.

She looked outside, trying to avoid the sun, but saw that it was about to rain, the clouds were already forming like a black sheet around the Georgia sky.

_Looks like I can go out and play sooner than expected._

Elena walked to her bag and pulled out a black dress with red lace trimming that just reached above the knee. As luck would have it, the girl from the house before had been her size, and had pretty decent taste.

As if her dress didn't scream vampire enough, Elena had the perfect pair of black boots with a two inch heel that fit perfectly below the knee. The red ties going up the sides matched perfectly.

She left, making sure to grab a long jacket with a hood to cover her face, leaving her pet bleeding to death on the bed.

* * *

Elijah sat in a bar, keeping himself distant from the other patrons. He never wanted to be stuck in the middle of their drunken fussing. The witch who owned it, Yasmine, did not trust vampires. She considered the Original to be a friend, so he stayed there often to talk with her, and assist her in keeping any supernatural at bay. As he was reading, taking advantage of the current quiet state, he looked out the window examining they sky as it turned black. He could smell the rain coming.

The bar began to fill with it's regular as soon as six o clock hit, which meant the terrible music also began to play disrupting him from his book. He tried to ignore the buzzing around him, the bantering was not a sound he enjoyed. The thousand year old vampire preferred his solitude so he continued to search the sky. One looking outside would think it was night time, even though it was still too early for the sun to set. He sighed, knowing the only reason he was there was because he made a promise to the bar's previous owner, Bree, who asked him in a dream to protect the new owner, who was in the same coven Bree belonged to before Damon Salvatore murdered her.

_At least for a while _she had begged.

_If I am able to, I will _he told her.

He already had a feeling today was going to be one of those days, the vampires who did not have daylight rings loved to show up at bars when the weather was like this. It was almost like a vacation for them.

His concerns were proven true when the scent of a vampire reached his nose.

He looked up, catching Yasmine's look from behind the bar.

She could sense it too.

The Original scanned the area, his eyes falling on the door when a cloaked figure slid in. He watched the woman curiously as she approached the bar, removing her cloak. At the angle he was in, he could only see the back of her head from where she was sitting at the bar, but he would never forget the long brown locks that fell down behind her.

_Katerina_

The witch looked at him cautiously over the vampire's head and he nodded. The Petrova woman was too smart to start any problems in a witch's bar.

Elijah remained in the shadows, not wanting her to see him; he preferred to watch her carefully from a distance instead as the vampire woman flirted with another male patron. She was already downing alcohol and rubbing her knee high boot against his leg giggling like a school girl as he spoke to her, also drinking profusely. He whispered something in her ear, and she smiled, pulling him up to his feet on the dance floor disappearing into the crowd. It was as if she had done this a million times before, which, knowing the 500 year old vampire, she had.

He remained on alert, making sure he could hear Katerina's odd vampire heartbeat over the music while her companion's pounded in his chest against hers.

_At least she doesn't have to compel anyone to have a good time. _He thought with a slight laugh.

He got a view of the two of them again when they shifted off of the dance floor and pressing each other's bodies shamelessly against the nearby wall. He could hear the man breathing heavily into her ear as he whispered something along the lines of taking a step outside.

Katerina quickly nodded, pushing him off of her playfully, grinning wide and guided him to the door.

The Original stiffened as they walked past him, but his nerves went into overdrive once he got a bad feeling.

_Something isn't right._

When they walked past, he could feel something strangely different about the vampire, something had changed about Katerina. Passing a worried look back to Yasmine, who looked equally as concerned, Elijah slipped out the door after them into the pouring rain.

As he stayed close to the bar's brick wall, the Original listened for any sign of the two. He crept along, and as he turned the corner he could see the two figures pressed against the wall. He peered around more carefully, not wanting to interrupt if it was unnecessary. He shook his head when the scent of blood reached his nostrils.

_Blood…and sex._

Elijah rushed the two, ripping them apart, the man had his pants down as he stared in fear of the intruder.

"_Leave_" Elijah compelled the man. "_You remember nothing._" The Original's eyes shot back to Katerina, who was avoiding his glare, knowing he could compel her as well.

"Katerina… You should know better than to hunt at a witch's bar."

She gasped, now meeting his gaze, which would have stopped Elijah's heart, had it been beating at that time.

This was not Katerina Petrova, he realized. He stared in awe, her eyes still surrounded by the black veins of blood lust, but he could still see the shred of humanity buried deep in the black pools her eyes turned into.

This vampire was much younger.

This…was Elena Gilbert.


	6. Bad Things

_**Chapter Five**_

_**Bad Things**_

* * *

Elena panicked when she saw the Original standing before her, his body suddenly replacing the man who was just having sex with her against the wall as she fed.

_Awkward…_

She stammered for a long moment, unable to reach a sentence, an excuse, anything at all, but Elijah's hard features set her straight.

_He's a friend_ she was trying to convince herself. _He won't hurt me._

"Elena." His tone was strict, comparable to a teacher who caught his student cheating on an exam.

She looked to the ground, her eyes reverting back to their original state.

_He is going to kill me. He should kill me._

"E-Elijah." She stumbled over the words. Without a word he grabbed her face by the cheekbones causing her to jump, their memories together now flashing through her mind.

_Always and forever_

_Your compassion is a gift. Carry it with you as I will always carry my regret._

_I did not want you to be taken._

The vampire closed her eyes in fear, expecting pain.

_Don't look at him._

"Elena…you are not supposed to be like this." His voice was ice cold now; she could hear the disappointment in his tone. Thinking quickly, Elena shook his hand away, and stepped closer to him, allowing their bodies to touch.

_What am I doing?_

_Saving my life._

She moved just close enough to cause the honorable Original to step back not wanting to be in contact with this vampire.

The distance gave Elena just the space she needed.

"I-I am so sorry Elijah." She whispered as she ran off, leaving her old friend and ally in her wake.

* * *

Elijah watched in anger as Elena gave him the slip.

_What happened to you Elena?_ He asked himself silently. Angry, disappointed that he let her go, and saddened by the encounter, he walked back into the bar as he recalled the last time he had seen her.

"_Where…is Elena?" Elijah grabbed his sister by the shoulders, practically shaking her._

"_She is __gone__ Elijah." Rebekah sounded strangely proud of herself. She must have felt as if she completed a difficult task._

"_I took care of it Brother, we are all safe now!"_

_Elijah growled, infuriated with his sister's blatant disregard for her life. Elena's life was much more valuable than his sister's. He could see that clear as day now._

"_You are a wretched __insignificant_woman Rebekah!" _his voice boomed in the forest as he tossed his sister to the side, leaving her as he disappeared._

_He followed the Salvatore, who had run off just ahead of him to the old bridge just in time to see Stefan diving into the cold water. The Original followed his lead, ignoring the fact that his suit would get ruined and dove after him._

_The two vampires met at the bottom of the lake, where he saw Matt's blue pick up truck had sunk to the bottom. He swam to the opposite side before Elena could see him as he signaled for Stefan to save her friend. The Salvatore nodded in agreement with Elijah in Elena's direction. She had no idea she was going to be saved, yet she still wanted Matt to be the first one out of the truck. Both vampires tore off the doors to the truck as Elena, the only conscious one in the car began to drift away, unable to breathe. Pulling both unconscious bodies out of the water, the vampires worked together to save the two humans._

"_Elena!" Stefan cried, grabbing her body from the Original, slapping her face, trying to get her to come to but with no luck._

"_Don't bother." The Original stated, a tired, betrayed tone in his voice. "She is going to die if we don't help her."_

_ Two hours later, Elijah stood in the hospital, donning a new suit which he luckily kept in his car, watching Elena carefully as the two brothers sat at her side._

_He could hear them planning on what to do with her unconscious body, and the more he heard, the more his own blood began to boil as his fists clenched._

"_She has vampire blood in her system. They are thinking about just letting her die." Elijah turned to Doctor Fell, who had appeared behind him._

"_What?" he spoke with a harsh whisper. "You gave her vampire blood?"_

_The doctor stepped back, frightened by his expression._

"_From yesterday's incident. " she mumbled "she could have died!"_

_Elijah slammed his fist into the closest wall, losing his stoic composure for the first time since this happened only hours ago._

Damnit_ he thought. He knew she wouldn't heal faster by now, it was just enough to turn her if she happened to die, and with the girl being hooked up to a respirator the control was completely in their hands. The Original said nothing as he walked into the room, ignoring the doctor's pleas to leave Elena alone, and not to hurt her. When he approached, he eyed the Salvatores with distaste. He only ever dealt with them for Elena's sake. She loved them, and she had always suffered from their childish behavior. Now her life depended on them?_

_It wasn't right._

"_What do you think you are doing?" Elijah demanded to get an answer. He had overheard the brothers talking of "pulling the plug" so to speak._

"_She'll turn. She will be fine." The Original found it funny how Damon managed to convince himself of this._

"_No!" Elijah's voice rose in frustration, frightening the brothers. "Elena would never want this."_

_Damon and Stefan both scoffed at this, "How the hell would __you__ know?" the eldest laughed, "You don't even know her!" _

_Stefan stood to his brother's side, ready to come to his defense. Elijah found the irony of them now being on the same side when Elena's death was concerned, but when it came to her life they would tear at her from opposite sides._

"_I am not about to allow you to risk her staying as a damn vegetable for the rest of her life Elijah. Elena never would have wanted __that__." The younger brother spoke softly, but his tone was equally as serious._

_The much older vampire was not about to let the brothers force her hand once again either. Not when there was another option. He had always been one for having another option for when it came to Elena's life._

"Leave the room. Do not enter again for one day." _He compelled both Salvatores, not giving them the chance to fight back. He didn't have the time, or the patience to listen to their squabbling. He had much more important matters to handle._

_Both brothers stared back at him with blank expressions as they turned around and left when Meredith Fell soon joined the Original, still wary of his intentions._

"_Are you sure whatever you are doing will work?" she asked nervously._

_Elijah did not want to be the one responsible for Elena turning, so he had to be careful._

"_I have the purest blood, it is much more likely to heal her than Damon's." he responded looking back at the brothers who were watching from the door, unable to enter._

_The doctor had no choice but to agree, she had done her research on the Original's long before they even came to town._

_Trying not to over think his actions, Elijah, glad that Elena was unconscious this time considering the last time he tried to heal her she daggered him, bit into his wrist allowing his blood to drip into her open mouth. Silently, he prayed, something he had not done in centuries, while the Salvatores screamed from the other side of the door, trying their hardest to break the invisible barrier the Original's compulsion had created._

_Once he had given her enough, he stood, straightening his jacket trying not to allow his nerves to show through his exterior._

"_Why are you doing this?" the doctor asked quietly while following him to the door._

"_Elena deserves much better than this life Doctor Fell. She can do so much more than what these two will allow of her." He glared at the brothers, who stood frozen by Elijah's words. "I am simply giving her the chance to see it. Maybe we will be lucky and she will leave Mystic Falls behind. It is truly what is best for her."_

_Elijah turned to leave the room, taking one last look at the girl-no-woman, who he would have liked to call a friend, regardless of their complicated past._

"_I'm so sorry Elena." He whispered, keeping his voice low, so nobody else could hear. He exited the room, walking past the brothers has if they did not exist, when Doctor Fell stopped him._

"_So you are leaving for good this time?" she asked, looking back again to Elena, wondering if she should tell her what he did for her._

"_Yes." He responded, not turning back. "If she turns instead, please call me, otherwise I was never here."_

They never called.

"Elijah?" Yasmine was before him, ready to close up the bar now.

_Had that much time passed?_

"What's wrong? You are on a different level of brooding today."

He looked into her large deep brown eyes and smiled slightly, trying to wipe away the memory of what Elena had become.

"That was…a friend of mine."

Was it right to call her a friend now? Not after what he had done to her.

The witch eyes him incredulously a smirk crossing her lips.

"I would say Katherine Pierce is no friend to you. What is really eating you?"

Elijah laughed at the tone the witch took with him and stood.

_Maybe it was Katerina. _He tried to convince himself, but he knew the truth…he could feel it.

"I guess the memories from a few years back just crept up at the wrong time." He replied, a sigh leaving his lips. Those memories he would have preferred to keep locked away. They were his, and his alone. Not even Elena had shared them with him.

"Ahh the doppelganger girl. I guess seeing Katherine would do that to anyone, always hoping for the better half." She smiled again as she walked away from him.

_Was Elena still the better one?_

Elijah left the bar with a heavy heart that night. He promised himself he would make up for his past mistakes. He vowed to find her, he needed to see the girl for himself. Even though deep down he knew it was Elena Gilbert, he wanted it to be Katerina.

* * *

The next day, Elijah had Yasmine cast a tracking spell on Elena, telling her that he needed to make sure the girl was safe. Luckily, she was able to cast it without using an item that belonged to her, or her blood. Elijah's most powerful memories of the night before had been enough to make it work.

He was going to find her and apologize for the horrible thing that he had done.

Once the witch gave him the address to a nearby motel, the Original left in a hurry, wondering why he hadn't seen the Salvatores nearby. They were always attached to her hip, when they weren't ripping her in two.

_Maybe she decided to take my advice and leave town. _He thought hopeful that the doctor had relayed his message in her own way, looking out for the human girl as well, even if she wasn't a human anymore.

When Elijah arrived at the motel, he searched the grounds for any signs of the brothers, not even sure what he would do if they were there. He could apologize, but he doubted that would happen, or he could kill them just for being childish.

_So many decisions._

Elijah shook the feeling, he wouldn't do any of those things after all. If they were around Elena, that means she still cared about them, and it would only hurt her for them to be hurt.

_I think I've done enough damage._

He found no sign of the brothers nearby, so he continued to the room where she was staying.

Elena had taken a woman back to the motel with her this time, while in a rush to escape Elijah. By morning the woman was drained completely dry and the young vampire was passed out next to her on the bed, to be awoken by a knocking on the door.

Elena shot up, her brain still feeling drunk on all of the blood she drained only hours before. Without even realizing it, the young vampire stood to go answer the door, unaffected by the fact that she was covered in blood, the body it belonged to hanging lazily off the bed.

_I will get caught. I have to get caught._

When she opened the door, she cried out seeing Elijah standing before her in the doorway, he looked livid with anger.

Trying to cover the view behind her from his view, Elena covered as much of the doorway with her body as possible, but the Original was taller and she knew it was too late. Even if he hadn't seen, he had the scent.

"Elena. How nice to bump into you again." He peered over her, his eyes surveying the disaster he blamed himself for, then scanning her own body, still in the clothes from the night before, but drenched in blood.

"Hi…Elijah." Her voice shook, and she refused to look at him, and tried to fight him when the Original pushed past her entering the room. Now seeing the entire effect, a dejected look passing over his face., he turned to her, his eyes saddened, unsure of what to say.

"What…happened to you Elena?" he asked, struggling to keep his voice even.

_Elijah you have to help me! Please!_

"Nothing happened. I was turned. I am free now." She answered easily, still keeping her distance from him, which he was desperately trying to close.

The older vampire stood in front of her now, having her cornered against the wall. This time he wasn't about to let her escape, and glared down at the atrocity she had become.

She was no better than Nicklaus, the brother she fought so hard to escape.

"_Tell me the truth._" He compelled, he wanted to know why she had turned for the worse in these years, but was not expecting the answer he received.

Elena couldn't understand what happened next, but she could feel her shields shattering around her.

"Elijah…you have to help me!" she cried. Tears began to stream down her face when she realized it was not just her thoughts she was crying out. Her voice had returned.

"I-I can't stop. You need to kill me!"

The Original vampire looked at her attentively, as if trying to decide if she was being honest. Even under his compulsion, she could be playing a game with him.

"When did this happen to you?" he asked, still compelling her.

He hated doing so, but in this case he felt as if he had no choice.

"I was turned about a month ago." She responded, her voice not as flat as he expected it to sound. "It happened when I went to visit Mystic Falls for my birthday."

Elijah continued to watch her curiously. This was a different Elena than before, he could tell by the way she stood, almost as if that damned vampire confidence was gone now and the old human Elena had returned.

This Jekyll and Hyde routine was something he had only seen once before a long time ago when he had to deal with a ripper. He knew if this was the case, as long as she was being compelled, she may be able to fight those urges, at least for awhile.

_She's probably full now._ He thought when he looked over to the dead woman's body.

"Elijah please. You have to kill me, I have done horrible and unspeakable things!" she was begging him now, grabbing onto his arm.

The Original recalled Yasmine telling him of a ripper running rampant southward, starting right outside of Mystic Falls. The most recent had been a friend of hers.

Elena needed to be protected, he realized. It didn't take him long to put two and two together.

"So that was you…all of those murders?" he asked carefully, hoping not to upset her as he didn't know how long she would be able to hold back the ripper.

She nodded, more tears falling from her eyes as she fell to the ground.

_She looks so…guilty. Who could do this to her?_

Elijah took her hand, helping the vampire to her feet. He had to help her. Elena was one of the strongest women that he knew, if she couldn't get through this nobody could.

"I will not kill you Elena." He said, holding her still. "Let me help you."

She looked up to him, her eyes were red now instead of the black he had seen before, from the tears. He knew then she was still in there.

The young woman who had amazed him years ago was there, she just needed some help to come out. She deserved the chance to live a somewhat normal life.

He had to try.

* * *

_**I hope you guys are enjoying this! :) Please review and let me know what you think!**_


	7. Let it Wash Away

_**Chapter Six**_

_**Let it Wash Away**_

Elena cautiously agreed to Elijah's offer. She felt if she didn't, she would end up hurting him more, since she knew if he had to he would end her life.

However, she had one condition, if she were to do this she had to know one thing.

"Don't compel me anymore please. " she told him, " I know it would make it easier, but I need to know I can do this on my own."

She could have said _you won't be around forever, _but for some reason, the words never left her lips.

The Original agreed, he never liked to compel anyone anyway. Knowing what was about to come, he had to prepare himself for the worst. Even though it was Elena's face, her voice, and right now she was there for a while, he couldn't look at her quite the same.

He feared the slaughtering of innocent life had changed the woman he once knew, the one he tried so hard to save. He could feel the sliver of Elena that remained, and he knew he was about to fight like hell to bring it back.

_I hope this is worth it. _He thought solemnly. He knew if anyone can come from something like this it was her, but how would it change her? Would the guilt take over instead?

"One more thing Elijah." She cut into his thoughts as she gathered her things.

"Yes Elena?" he knew she could hear the pain in his voice as he said her name. He caught himself fidgeting, which was rare for the Original.

"I need your word that if I cannot be saved, that you will kill me." The Original looked up at her. Still under his compulsion, she was still normal Elena, the Elena he had formed a powerful bond with years ago.

She was one of his strongest allies at a time, maybe in his entire existence.

"I give you my word."

Now, he was promising to kill her.

"And Elena?"

She looked at him from the corner of her eye, trying to clean the body. He could see she was shaking. He hoped this Dr. Jekyll version of Elena would stick around a bit longer, he feared once her ripper side took over again she would probably be gone forever.

He had never known anyone to completely return from something like this, but he had to remain confident.

For her sake.

"Do you know anything about who did this to you?" He was going to rip them limb from limb, and probably enjoy each second of it.

The young vampire shook her head, her hair falling over her face.

"I thought he needed my help. When I pulled over, he forced his blood down my throat and…suffocated me." She looked away, fighting back the memories of what ruined her. Elijah couldn't help but feel sympathetic for her, if this truly was Elena, which in a way he couldn't doubt, she was ripping herself apart inwardly about this, he considered the little information she had given him, wondering what kind of vampire would do this to someone.

"Are you ready?"

* * *

The Salvatores were not far behind Katherine now. It seemed she decided to stick around the southern state when they discovered yet another body left in her wake of destruction.

"Why do you think she is doing this Stefan?" Damon asked, his heart silently breaking as he examined the body sprawled on the bed. "She just let him bleed out. Katherine has never been so reckless."

Stefan could only shrug. In his own way, he was pleased that he would be able to finally have a reason to kill her. He couldn't blame Damon for wondering though, deep down he would always love the Petrova woman, regardless of how vile she really was.

"Maybe she has been compelled." He offered without care.

"You think an Original had something to do with this?" Damon shot back. Stefan had no response, while the oldest vampires of all time had little respect for human life, except for Elijah, it was unlikely they would have another vampire do their dirty work.

"Well…Klaus is still running around in Tyler's body, " he remembered sadly, the reason Caroline had left for New York in the first place. "Bonnie is keeping strict eyes on him so he's been laying low. Kol fled, as far as I know he hasn't stepped foot in Mystic Falls in six years and Elijah had his witch friends put Rebekah in solitude before he disappeared." The younger Salvatore grimaced recalling the oldest Original and his actions the night Elena nearly died. "I can't imagine Elijah doing this…and Kol would do it himself."

Stefan had rambled enough before his thoughts were cut short by the sound of Damon's phone buzzing.

"Yeah Bonnie." The Salvatore answered, he remained silent as he listened to what the witch had to say.

"All right will do."

He hung up quickly with her.

"What was that?"

"We have to visit Bree's old place." He said grimly, "the new owner has some information we might find useful….but Bonnie didn't know what it was."

The brother's pulled up to the bar in their black SUV rental by mid afternoon, the place looking different from the last time he had seen it. The new owner changed the look, he wondered if they had done so to avoid the image of Bree, who he had brutally murdered behind the bar years ago.

"Pick Your Poison huh? How…appropriate." Stefan eyed the name change with a laugh.

The brothers entered the establishment while it was still early in the day, making it relatively empty besides a young woman behind the bar cleaning up.

The ebony skinned woman-the witch, the brothers assumed- had her hair tied up in a high ponytail that fell down the middle of her back, wearing a blue tank top and jeans.

"Hello" she said without looking up from her task. "You must be the Salvatores."

"Yes." Stefan responded, approaching the bar. "Bonnie Bennett called and told us to come here."

The witch looked up at the two vampires, and passed a hateful glare to Damon.

"You." She growled, her face shifting in anger.

"Yes, me." Damon replied, preparing for the worst, but Stefan placed his hand between the two, pushing Damon back.

"We are not here to start trouble miss…we are here to stop it." He spoke calmly, hoping to deter any problems.

"I know why you are here…Sophia told me what you did…for Aiden." Her tone was angry at first, but at the mention of Aiden, she softened.

"I am sorry for your loss." The younger Salvatore whispered. "It was horrible."

"Believe it or not, me too." Damon also spoke, his tone apologetic. "We saw the aftermath. This thing needs to pay, please help us."

He had begun to call Katherine a thing Stefan had noticed. It was the only was he would be able to distance himself from the situation. Damon had realized what he was going to have to do.

"Well then…this thing you are referring to is Katherine Pierce." The witch stated, eyeing their expressions. "Which…you already knew."

Stefan shook his head, gathering his ground,

"We weren't positive. Why are you so sure?"

The woman, who still hadn't given her name, began to pour them drinks before she answered, which Damon began to swig right away.

"She was here, sat right where you two sit now." She pointed to the bar stools. "She got cozy with some guy and took him outside. Elijah had to chase her off since she began to feed." Stefan stared in amazement at the woman's nonchalant way of mentioning the Original's name when Damon dropped his glass at the mentioning, ignoring the shards that fell onto the floor.

"I-I'm sorry. Did you just say Elijah?" he sputtered "As in Original vampire Elijah? You know, dark…brooding, likes to chuck pennies through your glass window, stabbed a pencil in my neck Elijah?"

Stefan choked his drink, trying not to laugh at his brother's abruptness as the witch gave a slight chuckle, almost enjoying his fear.

"Yes Damon. He helps me out from time to time. Many werewolves and vampires will avoid my bar when there is an Original present." She replied, getting him a new glass and pouring more liquor into it.

"So he's what…your vampire bodyguard?" Now it was Stefan's turn to laugh at the thought of the 'big scary Original' playing bodyguard for a witch's bar.

"No. Not really." She shook her head, "He was just keeping his word."

_Typical Elijah _Damon thought.

"Okay, so he's here in Georgia…and ran Katherine out of town?" the older Salvatore asked, but the witch shrugged.

"All I know is she ran off and when Elijah came back in he did not look happy."

"So what do we do now brother?" Stefan asked after they bid the witch farewell and thanked her for her help.

"What else can we do?" he responded, hopping into the passenger seat of the car. "We are going to have to stick around until she strikes again. Maybe Elijah scared her into hiding."

* * *

Their original plan was to wait until the sun fell, but by the time it got close Elijah could see Elena's strength weaken. The young vampire was still there, holding on to any thread of humanity she could grasp.

"Okay. This is the last time I am asking you Elena. Are you sure you want to do this?" The Original asked, looking her in the eye.

She nodded weakly, which was to be expected since she hadn't fed in several hours.

"I'm sure."

She could feel herself drifting away as Elijah wrapped her body in the long black cloak she had stolen in order to protect her from the sun. He told her the feeling was normal, and it would feel like a complete hangover at first. She even caught herself jumping when he placed her in the car and turned it on, the sound now pounding in her ears.

Elijah drove, paying close attention to her, deep down, his heart was breaking for her, and he wondered what could make such a pure soul as Elena's snap in two. He wondered how the darkness was even able to get close enough to her.

_Why her?_

He had always assumed Rippers started deep down, usually depending on how they lived before they were turned, she had always been so compassionate and humane.

Watching her as she looked out the window, he wanted to comfort her in this darkness, he promised her a long time ago he would keep her safe, she just didn't know it then. It was unlikely she knew it now.

_Always and forever._

* * *

Elena snapped out of her trance when they pulled into a long driveway, surrounded by trees.

"Are we here?" she grumbled, the trees were beginning to all mesh into one, turning into the dark night. At first, she thought she was dehydrating but she knew it was the hunger.

"Yes." He responded, his voice was empty.

"Can I…eat something when we get there?" the vampire's voice was so weak, but Elijah knew that soon a much stronger voice would break through. That was something he wasn't sure he was ready for.

Truthfully, Elijah hadn't expected this at all.

"We will see when we get inside." He lied.

Elijah led her into his home, a safe haven from the loud sounds of Atlanta, which sat on ten acres of property, eight acres of it were the trees surrounding the house. He enjoyed the serenity, the wild life that would come and go, reminding him of life's most important feature, the freedom all would fight for in the end.

He kept his house small, compared to the Mikaelson mansion at least, with only three bedrooms and bathrooms.

"Please excuse the mess." He apologized, leading Elena through the door.

She looked around, her head still foggy, and examined the large living room. Her eyes scaled the cabin-like design, up to the cathedral ceiling and then back down to the stone fireplace where a black micro suede sat. The coffee table in front of it had two pieces of paper, and the end table next to it had a book only slightly out of place next to the Victorian style lamp made Elena smile.

_Some mess._

Everything about the home was so…airy. She could understand why the Original would enjoy living here, it gave him a certain freedom from his siblings.

_You should be looking for a way to escape rather than the architecture._

She had been hoping to get a tour of his home, since Elijah was never disrespectful to his guests, but instead he led her straight to the large bathroom, no longer fitting into his 'cabin theme' as his living room had.

"Everything is so beautiful." She whispered.

"Thank you." He sighed, placing her bag into her hands. "Please wash up." The Original kept his voice to a whisper. "If you don't mind, I will be right outside the door."

Elena nodded, noticing he wouldn't look at her, or so much as say her name.

"No…thank you Elijah." She spoke as she looked at herself in the mirror, now acknowledging the blood still on her face.

"It's no issue. Please." He shot at her, not wanting to admit that he could have been talking to the Elena he had always known, not the monster that he witnessed earlier.

She turned back to him in the doorway.

"I mean it, If you can…fix this…" she paused, her head beginning to burn.

_You are not broken _the thought in her mind was angry.

"It's coming back. " she stepped back into the bathroom, "I-I need to hurry."

She closed the door on him, leaving the Original to stare at the wood.

_I hope I don't fail you Elena…_he thought, leaning his forehead against the door, resting his hand on it as well.

* * *

Elena stood in the shower, only watching as the blood that had dried in her hair run along her body, tracing designs like spider webs as they pooled to the floor.

_Ah the memories…I miss it already._

"Shut…up." Elena grumbled. She could feel her resolve becoming weaker.

_He let you out of his compulsion, just like you asked. Now we can go back out to play!_

"NO!" Elena cried, punching the wall before falling to the ground, holding her head in her hands and screaming. She couldn't hold back the blood lust. She knew she was weak. She heard herself screaming for Elijah, first to help her, and then in the same sentence to kill her and then she could feel him rush into the bathroom and pull her out of the shower, cradling her close to his warm body. She was too busy screaming and thrashing at him to notice she was completely naked.

"Let go of me!" she was screaming now, she could feel herself being rushed to somewhere cold and damp.

_He will never forgive me. He will probably kill me now._

When she opened her eyes, it was to solid darkness. Wrapped In a blanket, she could now smell Elijah nearby, something about his presence solidifying the severity of her state.

She thought she only closed her eyes for a moment, but when she opened them again, she could feel herself tied in chains to a chair.

Elijah watched Elena, now tied to a chair in front of him, screaming and thrashing about again. Her eyes were blacked by the blood lust, and he knew she was surely blinded as well.

"What have you done?" she growled, lunging at him only to be held back by the heavy chains. "I need to feed!"

She snarled again at the pain of the vervain which seemed to line what was bounding her.

"I'm sorry…"

Deep down, he meant it. He could only hope that this would work.

"What? No Elena? No 'I am so sorry Elena?' " she began to laugh now.

"You are not Elena…" he whispered, his head in his hands. "Elena was compassionate and more honorable than I could ever intend to be. I can only hope to save a shred of what she was." He paused for a moment, his words cutting his own throat, "At least I will know what I have accomplished was still great."

Elena laughed again, she was sounding more desperate now.

"Well…you will not save any part of the Elena that isn't alive if you don't feed this one!" She shrieked as she tried to stand, causing Elijah to shutter at the sound.

"I will not." He kept his voice firm.

"Why do you try so hard to save me?" the words slithered off of her tongue like a snake. "Did you really care for me that you cannot kill me?"

Elijah smiled, recalling the memories they shared again, which seemed to be his alone now. He would have liked to call her a friend, to be truthful, he had always wanted more than that. Over time, even time apart, he had grown to love her as Elena Gilbert, not the doppelganger of Tatia or Katerina Petrova. He had always know to hold those feelings down though, she had enough problems in dealing with the Salvatores and their endless mind games for her affections.

"I do care for her. "he responded sharply, refusing to look at the vampire in front of him, not that she would have seen anyway.

"I am still here you know." She giggled, all while sniffing the air for blood.

"You are not Elena. You are just a shell of the wonderful and courageous woman who used to be. You are nothing more than a mouthpiece parasite holding onto a body that you do not belong." He growled, his temper rising, "and trust me of this…I will find out who did this to you."

He could hear her sigh in distress and hunger.

"Just do me one favor then. Make sure you thank them for me." The vampire lunged at him again, pulling on the chains harder than before, only to end up screaming in agony again.

It had only been one hour.

* * *

_**Thank you all for reading :) Please review and let me know what you think!**_


	8. When Darkness Falls

_**Chapter Seven**_

_**When Darkness Falls**_

Elena's screams echoed throughout Elijah's home for what felt like years. The first few days had been the worst, to the point where he could smell the blood forming in her throat, only to heal slowly. Without any blood in her system, he was torturing the young vampire and in a way it killed him to do so, but he had to convince himself Elena was hidden deep and this would be the only thing to bring her out.

The Original couldn't understand why it was so difficult for her to turn away from the ripper. He had assumed that once the blood was completely out of her system she should have reverted back to normal.

Instead, now one week later, she was still threatening to tear him apart, and even though he fought to remain confident, he was beginning to lose hope.

* * *

Each day, Elijah would sit with Elena spending hours in the dark room reading, his vampire sight being the only thing allowing him to see the pages.

"Whatcha reading?" she would ask each day trying to look forward. The two had played this game daily now, she would try and pretend to care of what he was doing, so he would have some shred of hope that Elena was coming back. Then she would laugh at him, and tell him the 'hopeful and sad' look doesn't suit him as much as he thinks it may.

Elijah was beginning to hate her, she was ruining the image he held dearly of Elena.

One day however, she surprised him.

"It's nothing important" he responded when she inquired about his book. "How are you feeling?"

She laughed, and he could see her eyes darting around the room, but without any blood in her system, she was practically blinded by the hunger.

"I still want to rip someone's throat out, but I'm managing."

Elijah sighed, pretending not to react to the words that she just uttered, afraid she would take them back.

It had taken an entire week of starving the young vampire to get to the point where she 'could manage'.

* * *

_Why are you doing this?_

Elena hadn't moved from her chair for now over an entire week. She tried, she tried like hell to break free. She had a goal in the back of her mind. It was the only thing that had kept her from going completely nuts. A part of her was fighting it though, wanting to break free and run, but the part of her that was seething inside of her wanted her to kill the man who was doing this to her.

Elijah.

_I can't hurt him. He is trying to help._

"I don't need help. I was doing just fine."

_No. He'll kill me for sure._

"He's killing me now."

The innocence in her mind began to scream, fighting everything it could to break free. She wasn't about to allow herself to harm Elijah, he was going to help her.

She hadn't realized she had been screaming the Original's name for an entire hour, she was too busy fighting her own turmoil, when he came down the stairs, looking unusually flustered.

"What happened?" his eyes took in her appearance, making sure she wasn't hurt.

"I…need…to…feed." She snarled, lunging at him. "Where the HELL have you been?"

She could smell the blood on him, the scent made her feel as if he had cheated on her.

"I was looking for any information on who did this to you." He responded quietly.

"Why?" Elena's voice changed now as she began to fight against her need for blood. This was something she had been getting much better at over the course of the week, and after a couple of days of "managing" her problem, she was beginning to learn how to push the blood lust away, which only made it angrier when it resurfaced, hence the threatening of killing Elijah.

He wanted to tell her that he wanted to rip the vampire apart piece by piece, but chose not to.

"I just need to find out why he would do this."

"Not everyone is like you Elijah. Not everyone thinks everything through." She argued, feeling as if she was defending an abusive parent.

Elijah could have argued her notion, he didn't think anything through when he took her out of the motel room to his own home to help her, even after she had brutally murdered almost a dozen people.

He watched her carefully as she began to sniff around the room again, she hadn't noticed he had a bag with him.

"What's that?" she pointed to him, still only partially being able to see. Elijah checked the bag carelessly and she sat to the edge of her chair.

"Oh. Pig's blood." He could see her grimace and rest back into her seat again. "If you don't like it, then you can starve. I need you to regain your control." He stated bluntly as he approached her.

Loosening the chains that bound her, he placed the blood bag in her hands, holding them, supporting the bag in her weakness. Slowly he guided her hands with his to her mouth so she was able to drink. He kept his features hard, keeping a close eye on her own while she drank in the first few drops, the veins around her eyes blackening rapidly.

He could hear her begin to pant, a low growl forming in her throat causing him to remove the bag from her hands, which even after only a few drops of blood, were beginning to regain their strength.

"Slow down." he directed her pushing her hand away as she tried to snatch the bag from him. "You need to breathe." She closed her eyes, obliging his request and took deep, useless breaths to calm her nerves. When she opened them she nodded, telling him she was all right to continue.

She knew this was an act of trust, and she did not want to break it, even if it was ripping at her from the inside out to do so.

"Why are you so adamant about helping me Elijah?" she questioned, tossing the now empty bag to him.

He paused for a while, directing his gaze back to the ground, he knew that now her strength was returning, she was able to see him clearly now in the darkness.

"I feel like I screwed up somewhere." He whispered in response, low enough so he hoped she wouldn't hear, but naturally she did.

"What do you mean?"

Elijah smiled now, realizing he was dealing with the much calmer Elena.

His Elena, as he wished he could call her. He had lost hope for a minute, but a rash decision on his end of giving her the animal blood had pulled through so far, allowing her to keep her control.

The ripper side fed more off of the kill, rather than the blood itself, and now he was able to see the light in her eyes again.

"I will explain it to you another time." He replied, "Once I have you back." He paused for a moment again, "to normal…I mean."

Elena shook her head in frustration, but she understood. Her outside seems all right for now, but she was sure even the Original knew the inner turmoil going on inside of her. Her brain was screaming and thrashing about in pain. She could hear the ripper in her mind fighting her, calling her worthless, weak.

_You won't survive this. No matter how much he cares for you, you will both suffer in the end. Knowing the things you have done disgusts him. You aren't even Elena anymore._

The vampire held her image by biting the inside of her cheek to prevent her from screaming.

_I will owe Elijah my life once you are gone._ She thought angrily as the Original began to walk upstairs. She was pleased, however, when she realized the voice was no longer saying "I" it was "you".

She could be free soon after all.

* * *

The first week had been painful, but once Elena was able to think straight again, she was able to hold onto control of herself. She was able to dip back into her memories once more, which since she had begun to starve, had become lost to her. She was able to remember the last time she saw Elijah now, instead of just remembering the instinctual fear of him, that even though she never felt, the young ripper vampire in her had.

She recalled how Elijah gave his word to keep Klaus away for as long as she lived. A softness in her heart reminded her how much she admired the Original. He had always been deathly loyal to his family, and even though he had betrayed her for them twice, she had been equally as dishonest. Yet for some reason, they always seemed to end up back together, truly needing each other's help. It was as if someone guided her to Georgia, as if something pulled her to him and she couldn't explain the feeling. That was the only way she could reason running into him. She knew it wasn't orchestrated, and it was too good to be a coincidence. It was something much more powerful than that.

_His sister was why you nearly died._

Elena knew that she was involved, the Salvatores reminded her of that the entire time she was awake in the hospital, noticeably avoiding the subject of Elijah in it's entirety even though she continued to ask. As far as the brothers were concerned, He left her in shame of his sister's actions and "took care of the problem."

She left the day of graduation, shutting off her phone, ignoring the Salvatores. Nothing could get her to talk to them after what Jeremy had told her. She reasoned that was why she never held a grudge against Elijah for his actions, she knew nothing else of the matter and her anger towards the brothers was far too strong.

_They were going to selfishly let me die._

There was something though, something powerful now between her and the Original. Her heightened vampire senses, no longer starved from blood, could sense it now. She cared for him, she always had. She had just been too blind to see it then…she had two of her own issues that she could hardly handle at that point.

She remembered how the first time he left her, the letter that he left which she could never erase from her memory. She even kept it in her apartment in California. Corey had found it once, and demanded to know who this "Elijah" was, but she couldn't find the words to describe him to her boyfriend at the time.

"_He was an old friend. He helped me through a few things." _She had told him. The description was dry, she had known Elijah was much more than that, even before she was turned she knew. She just never had the courage to admit the truth.

She remembered how she felt when he had returned, the night that she nearly died. She had felt relieved. She knew he would have been able to get her through this, and nothing would stop them now.

_Why do we keep finding each other? _She wondered, and was shocked to realize the voice in her head, that had been telling her to kill the Original, regardless of it's consequences, was much weaker now. Recalling her fond human memories, and even some of the bad ones…seemed to make it possible to keep it at bay.

"Elijah!" she called, not in a panic since she knew he was in the house. He was before her in only a second, a bag of blood already in his hand.

"Yes? Are you all right?"

_His voice is even soothing, had it always been this way?_

She wondered what else the ripper in her had ruined, but not only the ripper, no. She also blamed the Salvatores for holding her back.

_Stop worrying about it and take the damn blood._

The voice was still there, stronger now with blood so close, she realized as she snatched the bag from his hands.

_Nope, not gone yet._

"I-I'm sorry. I just…I think I figured it all out."

* * *

Elijah wasn't surprised when Elena snatched the bag out of his hands. She had been doing so well, but he couldn't expect perfection. He watched her as she drank the blood carefully, practicing her breathing at the same time. The Original was amazed at her current self-control, she had come such a long way in such little time.

After she finished the blood, she had seemed so deep in thought he wondered if she even realized he was kneeling in front of her, even though she had called for him and snatched the blood, he felt like it was something else. She was beginning to remind him of the Elena he always knew, the one he found to love.

The Original was surprised when she snapped back to reality, quickly explaining her proclamation of knowing how she became this way. He had only voiced his concerns about what made her like this once out loud.

_Had she remembered?_

He wasn't sure if she was even lucid at the time.

"Okay. Please, go into more detail." He sat down in the chair across from her, motioning for her to continue.

"Well…I spent the past six years running away from my own life. In a way, my humanity, the things that kept me tied to Mystic Falls? They were my friends. Maybe by the time I had been turned, I had nothing to hold on to?"

Elijah was amazed at Elena's realization. Her own self awareness, even in such a dangerous situation, was astounding. He had always thought that she was still there, under the harsh exterior but he didn't expect her to be so aware of what was happening around her. Not yet anyway.

* * *

The next day, Elijah took Elena upstairs for the first time since she had arrived at his home, a memory they both held onto with care. Elijah, recalling her screams as he had to rip the bathroom door off to get to her, and Elena recalling the last words she said to Elijah, begging for him to kill her, then threatening his life as well.

Once the sun hit her skin, she burned slightly, shying away into the shadows, but still watched in awe. Every image was popping out at her now, her heightened senses were going crazy after being locked in a dark basement for a week.

"It's not much, I know." Elijah apologized, standing before her, shielding her from the sun. "We need to build up your tolerance each day." He took her hand, cupping it in his, while Elena could feel his skin, which she had always expected to be so cold, yet felt so warm to her. She could feel each miniscule crease in his palm even, and then she felt him place something carefully in hers. The vampire opened her palm to see a beautifully crafted pendant, in it's center was a red stone, a ruby, surrounded by small lapis lazuli stones.

A daylight necklace.

Elena looked to him in surprise her eyes glistening over in happiness at it's beauty ,which she could appreciate more now than ever since she can see every single detail.

_Now we are unstoppable._

"Are you sure I am ready for this?" she asked nervously, preparing to give it back.

Elijah only nodded.

"Only one way to find out. Baby steps, right?"

Elena smiled while the ripper side of her was laughing in her mind.

_All in due time._

* * *

Each day, Elijah took Elena out even though she insisted on keeping herself locked in the basement whenever he wasn't around. She could still feel the presence of the ripper, so she couldn't trust herself alone.

The first time he took her outdoors, he took her to sit on the grass of the property during the daytime where they both would sit and enjoy the quiet solitude. At night, once she was a bit more ready, he would take her out to the streets to walk around, that way she would be able to handle being off of the property and being around much smaller amounts of people, while not having to deal with sensory overload at the same time. He had promised her he would take every precaution, so he did.

On their mornings sitting outside they would exchange stories, more Elena than Elijah. He had much more to say, but he found that keeping her talking was the best way to keep her under control.

She told him of her experiences the past six years, what college life was like and how wonderful her life was once she left Mystic Falls. The stories helped the Original as well, who had still held onto the thought that had he just allowed her to turn, she would have been safer. Knowing what he did now, he wasn't so sure. She got to live at least six more years of a completely normal life, getting rid of the Salvatores had been the best step for her.

He could see it all over her eyes though, even while a vampire, sitting outside in the sun, enjoying the serenity made up for it all.

After more time, he would drive her around in the car during busier parts of the day, it helped her to adjust. She was doing so well, but taking it slow was the best method.

* * *

It had been another week now, nearly three weeks since he had taken her in, and she was able to sit in an empty coffee shop with him, actually drinking coffee.

"Does it help?" he asked as he took a sip of his tea.

Elena nodded, she had not expected the simplicity of it all. She remembered Caroline telling her alcohol helped her through the urges, but up until not long ago, she didn't believe she needed help with them in the first place.

She smiled, avoiding looking up from their booth table. There was an empty seat in front of her, since Elijah found it safer for now to sit next to her, boxing her against the wall just as an extra precaution.

"_You know I hate surprises" _he reminded her, and she laughed in agreement. Anybody walking past them may have found it strange however, with Elena being huddled into the corner of the booth, as close to the wall as possible, if her eyes were not on the cup of coffee they were dead set into the man next to her, Elijah, who was sitting protectively to her left.

As they left, Elena walked closely next to him, catching herself linking her arm with his for support if a human got too close, the contact, though seemingly casual was much more than that to the young vampire. She began to feel drawn to him even more now than before, like letting go would cause her to lose her one lifeline, the one person that she could trust now that she was alone.

She needed him, and even if he didn't feel the same, she cared for him.

He opened the door for her, reminding her how much of a gentleman he always was when she knew him years ago, as she sat in the car, finally able to take a deep breath.

"You did fine." He consoled her, sensing her distress when he joined her in the driver's seat. "You are beyond amazing at this you know." She nodded, her lungs fluttering at the way he said she was amazing, which was with the same tone one would use if he just called her beautiful.

"Elijah?" Elena began nervously after a long moment of silence as they drove back to his home.

"Yes Elena?" He was finally able to call her by her name now, she noticed.

"Last week, you told me you were helping me because you felt like you messed up somewhere…what did you mean?" Everything about the Original froze for moments time, and then he finally took a deep breath to prepare himself, which worried the younger vampire.

_What did he do?_

He knew he promised that he would tell her the truth, so he did. In one long breath, Elijah retold the memory of the night at the bridge, his fight with Rebekah and then the Salvatores, he apologized profusely, his tone begging for her forgiveness for giving her his blood. He told her he knew she didn't want to be a vampire and how when he first found her, he thought it was by his blood that she turned. He also managed to apology for the really issue dragging at his soul.

"Had I just allowed the brothers to turn you, you wouldn't have been alone in your path of transition. You never would have been lost."

Elena stared at him, partially in shock, but also in gratitude.

"Elijah, if they had allowed me to turn, would I have been living a normal life? Would I have been able to go to college, experience that it's not just vampires that are jerks?" Elijah laughed at that, "I actually got to experience my life and if I had turned into a vampire, I never would have been able to shake Stefan and Damon, I would have been stuck with them for eternity. I don't want that. I never did." She smiled at him and then whispered as she stared into his eyes,

"And besides, I am not alone."

"You still were though, for what? Close to two months before you managed to bump into me." His features became solid again as he remembered the condition she, and the body on the bed were in.

"That could have continued had you not helped me." Elena lightly, and impulsively placed her hand over his, the touch was just slight enough for him to feel her remove it, and frowning as she did so.

* * *

Damon and Stefan had remained in Georgia for two weeks, and both brothers were beginning to get anxious. There had been no sign of Katherine anywhere since they had showed up. It was as if she disappeared off the face of the earth.

"Maybe our dapper Original Georgia resident killed her for us." Damon offered, but Stefan didn't think so. He was sure if Elijah had killed her, maybe he would have sent her head on a platter just to mess with them.

"Maybe she left town and is lying low after running into him." He countered.

"Maybe one of us should ask around town." Damon offered, out of any other ideas and getting stir-crazy.

Stefan grabbed his coat, leading his older brother out the door, they were both going to find her. He didn't quite trust Damon to do the deed if they had to kill her, which he was planning on doing anyway.

* * *

Their first stop was out to the only coffee shop in the small town, knowing from their experiences in Mystic Falls, people always talk.

"Maybe someone saw her at the bar and would recognize her again. Maybe they know where she is staying." Stefan tried, walking inside.

"You didn't tell Bonnie about any of this did you? We can't tell her about Katherine until we find her." Damon queried. Stefan nodded in agreement as they walked to the counter. They both knew telling the witch now could only cause problems for them, considering Elena was at Mystic Falls last.

It didn't take long for the brothers to get the girl at the counter talking, they didn't even have to compel her to do so.

"Yeah I saw that girl" the bouncy red head pointed to Stefan's sketch of the vampire that turned them. "She was here. This morning actually." She looked up at the brothers with pride.

"Here?" Damon jumped.

She nodded, pointing to a booth in the far corner.

"Yeah, she was sitting over there with some guy." She spaced out for a moment, looking dreamily, "He was nice." She smiled.

The brothers exchanged questionable glances as Stefan mouthed

"Elijah?"

Damon shrugged.

"Only one way to find out."

They thanked the barista, leaving her a decent tip, and left the coffee shop with a new goal in mind.

Find Elijah.

* * *

Bonnie was catching up with the Salvatore brothers when the doorbell rang at her house.

"Let me know what happens." She told Damon, who called to tell her that the vampire hadn't yet left town.

The witch opened the door to see a young man standing before her.

"Uh…can I help you?" she eyes the young man suspiciously. He was very tan with long sandy blonde hair that fell over his face. She could tell he wasn't from around here, since it had been raining for the past couple of days and his beige cargo shorts, sandals and white t shirt didn't fit the scenario.

"Hi, I'm really sorry about barging in on you like this, I was told to come here." He responded smiling, extending his hand to shake hers. "My name is Corey Tanner. I'm a friend of Elena Gilbert's?"

Bonnie remembered him, this was Elena's ex-boyfriend. The one that she recently broke up with for cheating on her with a college freshman. Also, he was the reason she came to Mystic Falls for her birthday this year, usually the three girls would do a group Skype chat instead.

_Why is he here? _ _Better not be to get me to talk to her for him. _

"A friend? Yeah I know who you are." She crossed her arms, setting herself against the doorframe. "What do you want?"

Corey paused, realizing Bonnie's aggressive approach to his appearance at her door and placed his hand on the opposite side of the door frame.

"I am here about Elena?" he raised his eyebrows, anticipating a reaction.

"I figured as much." Remarked the witch quickly.

_Why else would he be here?_

"Uhm….okay. Well, have you spoken to her lately? She told us she was coming here to visit for the weekend."

Bonnie shook her head, she has been so caught up in the vampire problem she hadn't even spoken to Caroline.

"Why? Has something happened?" she was starting to get nervous.

Corey shrugged, not entirely confident when Bonnie closed the front door and joined him on the porch.

"She never came back to school." He told her, sitting on the steps. "I went to the police, but they said she may have freaked out and dropped out or something." He put his arms in the air, in defeat. "They won't do anything!"

Bonnie eyed him, confused. She knew what he had done to Elena, so she couldn't understand why he cared.

"So…you get dumped for cheating, and then fly here to find her? Why?"

"I still care about her. She deserved better than me, but she could have been hurt. Besides, I am the only one in our group of friends who has relatives in Virginia."

Bonnie laughed slightly, but deep down she was worried.

_What if the ripper got to Elena?_

She needed to call the Salvatores, after all, it was likely she was dead.

* * *

_**Holy crap that was long!**_

_**I didn't want to drag the Elijah/Elena ripper interactions for too long since this is only mapped out to be a twelve maybe thirteen chapter story and there is still the *story* of it all yet to come ha ha  
**_

_**I appreciate all of the reviews, you guys are so amazing I cannot begin to explain :)  
**_

_**I hope you all enjoyed this new chapter, it's definitely a long one with a lot that happened, but as I said I needed to push forward a bit ;)**_

_**Please keep reviewing let me know what you think! I hope you are not disappointed!  
**_


	9. Two Steps Back

_**Chapter Eight**_

_**Two Steps Back**_

Elijah's trust in Elena had begun to frighten the young vampire.

"Will you be all right?" he asked her, giving her a bag of pigs blood. He wasn't sure she was ready for human blood yet, or if she ever would be.

"I should be." She smiled, handing him back the daylight necklace, just in case.

"As long as nobody comes knocking."

Elijah wanted to smile in return as he slipped the necklace into his pocket, but he had other thoughts running through his mind. He was going to have a talk with someone about a certain vampire running around.

"All right. If you need anything, make sure you call me right away, I will be back as soon as possible."

Elena nodded in understanding. Her control was more reined in now than ever before, but she knew that she was going to struggle.

"Is there anything I could do?" she asked, as she shifted uncomfortably on her feet, "I could…I don't know…organize something."

Elena's eyes scanned the spotless home, even after Elijah had rushed her down body the stairs when she first arrived, everything was right where it should be. There was nothing there for her to clean so maybe he needed some paperwork put in alphabetical order.

She really was just grasping at straws, everything about Elijah seemed to hold a kind of perfection to it, even his household. That was the one thing that kept her going so strong. While she cared heavily about the risk of her killing someone, she cared equally as much to not disappoint the Original. He risked everything to help her after all.

Elijah knew she would need to be kept busy, it was the most effective way to avoid the bloodlust. Most vampires would pick up an extended hobby. He himself had picked up studying.

"In my office upstairs to the left there are some books for you to go through if you would like."

He knew that she held a special place in her heart for literature; it was always something that drew him to her from the start when he began to study her.

Elena smiled again, and nodded waving him off in an effort to push him out before she panicked.

"I'll just lock myself in there then." She laughed

With that said, Elijah took his leave, anxious about leaving her alone in the house but he was undecided if it was because of what she had been through and her capabilities of being alone, or if he had begun to become attached to her company.

* * *

Damon wanted to die.

After getting off of the phone with Bonnie, his heart felt like it was plummeting through his chest.

"_She never made it to California Damon…" _The witch had told him, while her voice broke.

The words shred through the vampires skin. Regardless of her hatred of him, he would never have wished for Elena to get hurt. He never would have wanted this, not after he saw what the ripper was doing.

What Katherine was doing.

"_You think…"_ His voice wavered on the phone, he had no reserve. His thoughts raced impulsively, going straight to how many different ways he could rip Katherine apart being one of the more powerful ones.

* * *

"It makes sense Stefan." Damon's tune had changed by the time he brought himself to tell his brother. He had tried to reason it to him after he explained Bonnie's phone call.

"How exactly does it make sense to you Damon?" Stefan snapped. "Elena is most likely dead!"

Damon put his hand up to relax his brother. This wasn't easy for him either.

" I mean…it would make sense if Katherine went all crazy vampire murderer, why wouldn't she go after Elena first?"

Stefan considered this for a long moment, trying to convince himself that she may not be dead and it was all a hoax. He cursed at himself for making her go away, she had been away from Mystic Falls for so long, the one time she returned she had been vulnerable to unseen forces.

"How are you being so calm about this?" Stefan demanded an answer from his brother, after all he was always the brash one who held his emotions in the palm of his hand. He should be either boiling from the inside out, or crying ridiculously over the news.

"Because I spent my time being useful Stefan!" the brother spat, feeling like he was being accused of not caring. "I found out where Elijah is staying. Maybe we should pay our favorite Original a visit?"

* * *

Elena spent her day locked in Elijah's office without any intention of leaving.

_But we could have so much fun…_

The young vampire shook off the thoughts, ignoring it as she went through Elijah's book collection…which was more like a library.

She admired each book separately, some of them so old she was frightened they would turn to dust in her hands. Each cover that she touched however, no matter how old was cleaned of dust. She could see the Original took very good care of his possessions.

"Wow…" she breathed, taking out a small box. There was a lock to it, making her pause before opening it, but it was already unlatched, tempting her. When she opened it she found small pieces of aged papers and as she pulled out each of them with care, her hands shook in anticipation.

She opened the first one, disappointed to see it in writing she didn't recognize, or understand.

_How many languages does he speak?_ She wondered, figuring he probably learned a lot in one thousand years.

She went to open the next when she heard a car pull up the long driveway.

_Elijah _she thought, her sense of freedom returning. She hadn't been alone for that long, maybe only an hour and a half, but him coming home meant they could go outside together, which is something she enjoyed. She didn't think it would be a good idea, or a safe idea to go outside alone, she also enjoyed the company.

Elena approached the door to the office to meet him downstairs when she heard the car door close, then shortly after, she heard a second door shut.

_Looks like he brought dinner._

Wary, the vampire stood near the door, not moving. She couldn't imagine Elijah bringing a guest into the house, at least without warning her first.

_It is his home you know. He can do as he pleases. No need to be jealous._

Pressing her ear against the door, ignoring her own thoughts, she listened to hear a faint knocking on the door.

_Definitely not Elijah._

_You're right. It's dinner for delivery!_

She shook her head again, her ears focusing on the sound of the lock clicking, she heard the front door opening soon after.

"_Looks like nobody's home." _A male voice spoke quietly, she heard two people enter but this voice was unforgettable.

_Damon_

The young vampire's control was already starting to falter.

_He would have let me die._

It seemed, as a vampire, she couldn't let anything go anymore. Her hatred towards the brothers had only amplified since her transition.

Elena quietly opened the office door, forgetting her promise to Elijah that she would call him if anything were to go wrong, and slipped towards the banister overlooking the main she peered over, she could see the shadow of the second vampire, her vampire abilities which she felt like she had just received, made out who it belonged to.

_Stefan_

Her heart burned, his betrayal had hurt her the most, and was mostly the reason she left. She had expected the behavior from Damon, but never Stefan. When she heard of the younger brother's involvement, she wasn't able to handle it and when Meredith Fell suggested she leave town, she took the advice to heart and left as soon as she could.

She could feel her anger coming at her at full force now, she was going to make them both pay.

"_Do you think she's really here?" _She heard Stefan ask from below the stairs.

She could hear Damon shuffling on the other side of the house.

"_No. She is definitely here, or was here." _She heard Damon call from the bathroom. _"It looks like they fought."_

Damon was admiring the hole in the wall.

"_Or Elijah just likes it rough." _Stefan had replied, almost with a laugh.

Elena gasped, quickly covering her mouth, but she was too late.

"_She's here Damon. Did you hear that?"_ Damon didn't respond, but she could hear the brothers treading quietly through to the stairs, luckily Elena was quick enough to avoid them as she made it to the other staircase before they could realize she was behind them, watching them closely.

_Just kill them. They deserve it._

Instead of taking her own advice, Elena quietly listened as they approached Elijah's office. They were probably following her scent.

"_She was up here recently brother." _She could hear Stefan say.

"_Yeah she is in this house. Maybe you were right about the most fun Original liking it rough after all." _Damon laughed, _"We'll split up and find her."_

Elena could hear the difference in the brother's foot falls, like echoing in her ear drums. She knew Stefan remained upstairs to search for her, while Damon had come down on the opposite side.

_Perfect._

The young vampire stalked the older Salvatore, a grin pulling at her lips with the thought of all the different ways she could tear him apart.

_No, you need to stop._

It had only taken the up close scent of the brother for her to lose her control, and now she had no intentions on stopping. She finally had the chance to make him feel like she had that night. She was going to bring him to the brink of death, and hold his future in her hands for once.

Maybe that would make her feel better about being a vampire.

There was a boiling inside of Elena that words could not describe, for a moment, all she could feel was the anger and the bloodlust as she tried to make her way into the kitchen where she knew Elijah hid the blood for her.

_He probably had human blood in there too. I doubt the Prince of Darkness would touch the likes of swine._

Elena leaned against the wall, trying her hardest to control herself.

_Once I feed, I'll be fine. _She kept telling herself, all while trying to drag her body away from Damon, but it wasn't easy. After all, at one time she considered she may have loved this vampire, then he betrayed her. That does not go unforgotten so easily.

Elena had almost made it into the kitchen when she heard the brothers meet up again in the living room.

"Nice place huh?" Damon laughed.

"Damon…we are here for a reason. Not to examine the house." His brother replied.

_Well…it is a nice house _Elena laughed, but her mood instantly changed as the brothers began to speak again.

"Right. We are just going to kill her and go, hopefully before Elijah even knows we were here." Damon's tone was short, and to the point.

_Kill me?_

Anger began to flood through her blood and when she turned to the mirror on the wall, she could see the veins around her eyes blackening.

_You need to calm down._

She could hardly concentrate, she hadn't even gotten to the blood yet.

There was no stopping her now.

With a low growl, Elena rushed to Damon, slamming his body hard against the wall. She had the upper hand only by catching him by surprise, but not only was she outnumbered but both vampires were much older than her.

_You are going to get killed!_

Damon quickly reversed their positions, pushing Elena against the wall with a wooden stake aimed at her chest.

_Told you!_

"Damon please!" she begged, putting her hands in front of her defensively. "You don't want to do this!"

She could feel the older Salvatore loosen his grip reluctantly, as if he when he saw her face, everything had changed.

Stefan stepped closer, now next to his brother,

"Damon don't-" he began, but Elena was quick on her feet and knocked Damon across the house. The older vampire crashed into the stairs, falling unconscious.

_Lucky shot._

She turned around in time to see Stefan come at her, and was barely able to dodge the hit as she rolled to the floor, her fangs were out as she hissed in anger.

She went to lunge at the Salvatore, and jumped mid air when she could feel a force push her body against the wall….it was harder than when Damon had, nearly knocking the wind out of her, but at the same time, it was as if her attacker carefully placed her against the wall.

She snarled, blinded by anger as the arm held her off her feet against the wall.

"Calm…down!" the powerful voice commanded.

_Elijah!_

Elena relaxed, knowing that now he was here, she was okay. They wouldn't be able to kill her, no matter how hard they tried.

"Elijah…what the hell do you think you are doing?" Damon yelled standing next to his brother after coming back to reality.

"Excuse me?" the Original glared at the two brothers, briefly ignoring the two brothers as he turned his attention back to Elena as if to ask "Are you all right?". She nodded before he released her.

"You two have the audacity to break into my home, search through my things and you want to know what I think I am doing?" he laughed now, stepping directly before them, blocking their view of Elena "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't end your useless existence now. Please…do share."

"Do you even know what she's done?" Stefan tried to argue, pointing to Elena. "Katherine is a murderer! She killed Elena! " before Elijah could even react, he continued. "Don't you remember Elena? You know…the one who did everything she could to save your sorry family?"

Elijah laughed, and passed a glance to Elena and then turned back to the brothers in an attempt to diffuse the situation before she got even more angry.

"It's funny. You two fought over Elena like you would die without her, yet…you can't even see her when she is standing right in front of you."

The brothers stared as Elena moved next to Elijah, her eyes turning black again.

"Katherine?" she was showing her fangs again. "You thought I was Katherine?" she lunged at the brothers once more, this time tackling Stefan to the ground, seething with anger.

"How many times did I ever have to tell you that I am NOT Katherine?" she snarled, close to his face now, preparing to rip it off.

"Elena!" Elijah yelled, grabbing her by the waist, pulling her off of him. The young vampire flung back into his arms facing him, breathing deep, fighting to regain her ground.

"Elena…go get blood." He whispered into her ear, pushing her lightly to the kitchen. When she was gone, he turned back to his unwelcome visitors, motioning for them to sit, while he sat across from them.

* * *

"So gentlemen, again…care to explain to me why you broke into my home? With the intention of spilling blood nonetheless?"

He had attempted to keep his voice even, his anger shifting into confusion.

"Let me ask you something Elijah. Why have you been hiding her? Do you know what she has done?" Damon pointed to the kitchen, not bothering to keep his voice low.

"Yes actually I do. I am not condoning her actions, but we have all been there have we not?" he looked straight to Stefan as he said this.

Damon scoffed in frustration throwing his hands in the air.

"So…what? Out of the goodness of your heart you decided to help her?"

Elijah rolled his eyes now. He kept his defenses up however, these brothers were here to disrupt his lifestyle.

Only one other person can do that.

"Not that I need to explain my actions to either of you, but I should let you know that it was either I help her, or kill her like she begged me to."

The Original didn't care to explain that he didn't want to kill the girl, and even though at first it was his own guilt that made him willing to help, in the long run it was because he truly cared for Elena. He knew he would pull through the situation given to her, it was just how she was. She adapted, which was something he had learned to admire of her. No matter what was thrown her way, whether it be Klaus, Esther, the hybrids, or even himself, she always learned to adapt to the environment.

It was intriguing.

The brothers passed questionable glances, as if silently arguing on who was going to speak next.

"Why didn't you call us when you found her?" Stefan spoke up, he seemed hurt.

"Oh right. Please forgive me." The Original smirked, "She is not a dog that needs to be returned to her rightful owner, and if I had chosen to call anyone, you two are hardly on my radar of people to call when there is a ripper in my town." He held his gaze on Stefan, amazed that even though Elena had not spoken to them In six years, they still wanted to control her.

_No wonder she got out of town._

"Also, to be honest, she never asked for you, or even about you. I assumed she got out of Mystic Falls, like I had hoped. Then she told me that she ran across the country just to get away from you."

Damon groaned, frustrated with Elijah's lack of cooperation.

"That's fine. We can take her off of your hands and back home then." He retorted sharply.

"I'm sorry…What am I doing?" Elijah stood when he heard Elena return, offering her his seat. She declined it, motioning for him to sit back down. He had hoped she would sit, it was much easier to predict her actions if she needed to jump off the couch before lunging at either brother again, however, after giving her a once over, he relaxed realizing that Elena's normal demeanor had returned.

"Feeling better Elena?" Elijah cut off the older Salvatore just as he opened his mouth to speak. The young vampire nodded, approaching him and placed a hand on his shoulder casually.

"So…what am I doing?" she asked again, glaring at the brothers.

"You are going to come with us back home until we get this sorted out." Damon responded sharply. He wasn't asking her, which made the Original's skin crawl.

Elena shook her head, her hair falling around her face.

"You are insane if you think I am going back with you." She laughed now. "I think I am doing just fine here but thanks anyway."

She caught Stefan rolling his eyes and she passed him a sharp glare.

"Don't bother trying to convince me, I am not leaving." She affirmed, her tone was final.

Damon ignored her, a plan clearly spinning and changed the subject.

"So…you want to tell us what happened?"

Elena looked to Elijah for support, and moved to sit on the floor to rest her back against the chair he was sitting in. Repeating the night she became a vampire had proven difficult, the event still flashing horrible images in her mind, but she retold the story anyway, all while holding onto Elijah's calf for some form of balance. She realized he seemed to have that effect on her, he made her feel safe.

"So…you know who did this to you then?" Stefan inquired, his tone now more sympathetic.

She shook her head.

"That's how you two can make yourselves useful." Elijah cut in, placing his hand on Elena's shoulder causing both brothers to glare in his direction.

"By doing what exactly?" Damon shot to the Original.

"Since you will be on your way back to Mystic Falls, look for a vampire who goes by the name of Alexander." He directed, "He would have been in Mystic Falls around Elena's birthday."

Elena's head shot up in shock.

"Your contact came through?" she asked, her yes widened.

Elijah nodded, but held his gaze on the Salvatores.

"Can you handle it, or not?"

Stefan nodded slowly as the brothers stood, the other vampires standing up as well.

Damon approached Elena carefully, unsure if he could trust the young vampire who had recently torn a man or five apart, and placed his hands on her shoulders.

"I wish you would come back with us." He whispered. "Everyone misses you, you know. Besides…Bonnie can probably help you better than he could." He eyed the Original, who raised an eyebrow.

Elena smiled in return, but it was a fake smile.

"I doubt that Damon."

It wasn't that she didn't care, she just felt like she had nothing in Mystic Falls anymore.

Stefan gave her a heartfelt wave goodbye as the two walked out the door, with Elijah leading them out.

* * *

"Elijah…I am so sorry." She apologized as soon as he closed the door. He turned to her, not looking angry, or even disappointed.

"I lost it, they were going to kill me!" she cried, defending herself even though he hadn't said a word.

"It's all right Elena." He whispered, approaching her. He didn't walk to her carefully as the Salvatores. He trusted her, which he knew would damn him one day.

"No it's not." She looked to Elijah, tears forming in her eyes. "I could have hurt them. I wanted to so bad." She paused, trying her hardest to regain her composure, "I don't know if I can do this anymore…" she began to shake her head, tugging lightly on her hair from the stress.

"Don't say that, " he soothed, taking her hand, "Elena, if anyone in the world can do this. It's you, you have to know that." He realized he had never met someone as valiant as she was. There was not a shred of doubt in his words, even as he cried befoe him, her arms now wrapped tightly around his waist.

"Elijah I don't know what I would do without you." She whispered, probably not realizing she was saying those words out loud.

He could feel her knees begin to weaken and found himself wrapping his arm around her waist, leading her gently to the ground before she collapsed.

"You would have figured it out on your own Elena. I know you would have."

She shook her head, not believing his words, but she didn't have to.

She was making progress.

Regardless of him being there or not, she was getting somewhere.

"Come on." he said as he lifted her off the ground into his arms.

"What are you doing?" she grumbled, now controlling her sobs, confused.

"Taking you to a room so you can relax." He walked up the stairs quickly, and went into a large bedroom, his bedroom since it was the only one with a bed at the moment, and placed Elena carefully under the sheets and sat next to her as she leaned against the head board.

"Get some rest Elena. You deserve it." He stood to leave, but she grabbed his hand to stop him.

"Wait, you're leaving?" she sounded scared.

"I figured you would want some quiet," he rubbed her palm with his thumb, relaxing her hand. She shook her head with a frown.

"Too many liberties. Can you just sit with me?" she looked at him with pleading eyes, he knew what she meant by too many liberties, she still didn't trust herself.

Elijah smiled, wondering If she was asking for his company for any other reason, but couldn't turn her down regardless.

Not a chance.

* * *

_**Assuming my writer's block passes soon, the next chapter will be up in about two days, we are nearing the finish, with only about four to five chapters left (eek!) Hope I don't leave anyone disappointed!**_

_**Leave a review and let me know what you think!  
**_


	10. Force His Hand

_**Chapter Nine**_

_**Force His Hand**_

"We can't just leave Elena with him Stefan! It's too dangerous! He could hurt her!" Damon banged his hand on the steering wheel to the truck as they pulled out of the driveway, he had just had the chance to get Elena back, he wasn't willing to let her go so easily.

"What do you want from me Damon?" Stefan shot back, "Do you want to go back and try to drag her out?"

The older brother wasn't having it, six years wasn't very long for a vampire when you've already lived for so long. He drove away from the house regardless of his desires though, knowing that his younger brother was right. If he were to go in there guns blazing, he would likely get himself killed and Elena hurt. As he drove down the long driveway, he could feel his memories of Elena, the doppelganger, clutching on for dear life.

* * *

Bonnie left Corey in the other room. She was so broken up abut Elena and didn't want him to see that she was so upset. She had no hope for her friend's survival, this was Mystic Falls after all, and nothing good ever happened here.

The witch wouldn't tell her friend's ex boyfriend about her worried, there were some things she could tell he wouldn't understand, and vampires was probably one of them. She began to cry again, it hitting her harder than it had before that her best friend was gone, and even though they had no proof, they didn't need it. The fact that she had no hope of her survival is what hurt her the most, her lack of faith made her angry with herself for not protecting her friend. Soon the emotion began to burn inside of her. She wanted-no, needed- vengeance on those that caused the damage to her friend.

_The Salvatores aren't working fast enough._ She thought with anguish, _I'll have to call the witches._

"_Hello Bonnie. I assume you are calling me with progress from your vampires?" _Bonnie had called Isla, all while trying to contain her tears the second the witch answered the phone. Sobbing to her may help, but only if she could understand what she was saying.

"Unfortunately sister, I do not." She let out a sniffle.

"_What's the matter honey?"_

"This monster killed my friend!" she exclaimed, allowing her tears to fall even harder. "I want it dead Isla."

The woman was silent for a moment, as if waiting for Bonnie to continue.

"_And what about your Salvatores? Are they not doing their job?"_ her voice was accusing, as if to imply Bonnie was at fault for their failure.

"No maam. They aren't doing anything about it anymore."

Bonnie had to lie through her teeth, but she had to get what she wanted. A kill order on the Ripper vampire who was committing these murders.

"_Okay, I will alert all witches to kill on sight once we find out more. Anyone who stands in our way, anyone who was discovered protecting her will answer to the witches." _Isla's voice was powerful and commanding, Bonnie knew she meant business. _"We happen to have a lead in Georgia, rumors are Katherine Pierce is the Ripper."_

Bonnie hung up the phone only feeling partly satisfied. She had thrown the Salvatores under the bus, but knowing now that Katherine could be the one behind it all made the taste that much sweeter.

_Wait…Katherine?_

Of course, it made sense for the Salvatores to be slacking in this case. She knew Damon would be careful around the idea of it being her until he knew for sure, and even then she wondered if he would be able to go through with it. He was most likely still in love with her after all of these years.

_That's why they hadn't found her. They stopped trying! _She realized.

Not quite ready to call the brothers and give them a piece of her mind, she slipped into the bathroom to fix her makeup since now she had mascara running down her cheeks before going into the living room where Corey was. She found him sitting on the couch waiting impatiently.

"Do your friends think that they can find her?" he stood now, looking anxious. Bonnie admired his genuine consideration. Even after what he did to her, he still managed to care.

_Elena always attracted the wrong kinds of people _she sighed. She had wished that when Elena made the decision to leave Mystic Falls she would have been able to move on and enjoy her life for once.

She never got the chance.

"Elena wouldn't have just left California without telling anyone. It's not like her." She explained. She figured that was enough of an answer, but soon enough, her phone rang distracting her from her conversation anyway.

_Damon._

"Yes Damon?" she answered curtly.

"_Yeah Bon, we have a problem."_ The older Salvatore sounded both nervous and angry on the phone.

"What? Is it about Katherine?" she snapped, taking a step outside so Corey couldn't hear. "Yeah thanks for telling me by the way."

Damon was silent on the other line, and she could hear him whispering to Stefan.

"Hello? Yeah. Katherine!" Bonnie yelled into the phone now. "Whatever you have to say Damon, it doesn't matter." Said the witch once Damon was paying attention again, "The witches are going after Katherine, starting in Georgia. You guys are on your way back right?"

There was another long, drawn out pause on the other end of the phone, this time though, Bonnie noticed Damon wasn't conferring with his brother, he just couldn't speak.

"_Bonnie…"_ he began, and the witch's heart dropped before he could finish.

_Bad things always happen in Mystic Falls…_

"_Bonnie…that's not Katherine."_

* * *

Damon could hear Bonnie drop the phone and cry out in despair. Listening closely, he could hear her heart pounding in her chest as she whispered _What have I done?_

Then…as anticlimactic as it was, he heard a beep.

"Damn it!" The older Salvatore yelling, tossing his phone in the back of the car.

"Battery died." he said to Stefan, who was giving him a strange look.

His younger brother laughed, rolling his eyes, but his expression rapidly changed once he saw the horror on Damon's face.

"What is it?"

"Bonnie called the witches. They are going after Elena." He explained, pulling the car over. He wanted to turn around and drag Elena back with them, but he knew doing so would lead the witches right to him. They had to know they were searching for the Ripper, so they would be watching them closely.

"What?" Stefan exclaimed, "Why would she do that?" He was furious, as if he had been betrayed by the witch that he thought he could consider a friend.

Damon could only shrug.

"I think she thought Elena was gone for good. I don't really know! Why does Bonnie do half of the things she does?"

Stefan frowned, in a way, agreeing with the brother. If Bonnie had thought they were doing what they promised in order to keep the witches at bay, it would only make sense for her to get them involved.

"Going back will only lead the witches to Elijah" the younger brother reasoned, mirroring Damon's thoughts, "We need to keep going and call him once we are out of Georgia."

Unlike his brother, Stefan was confident in the Original's ability to protect Elena. After all, a blind man could have seen the look in his eyes when he looked to the young woman. It was a look he once wore himself, Damon included.

The doppelgangers always seemed to have that effect on people.

* * *

Elijah sat next to the bed, comfortably resting his chin in his hand as he stared into space. It was as if he allowed his brain to shut off, giving him the rest he needed all while he was still somewhat alert.

His eyes traveled the room until they had fallen onto Elena, the young vampire, who was still asleep in his bed. He watched her closely, stirring from his stasis, and saw her eyes begin to twitch underneath the lids. He could tell that she was dreaming vividly. Smiling, he admired how peaceful she seemed, the way she held onto the blanket under her chin as if she were using it instead of the pillow made him wonder how someone as innocent as her could have switched onto pure bloodlust as she had. Everything about the woman was beautiful, and now with her shadowed excursion over her past, nothing has changed to him.

Elijah continued to watch her as she began to toss and turn soon enough. Whatever she had been dreaming about was being to torment her.

He knew he could have walked into her mind, it was a common practice among the older vampires, but they usually did it to torment their targets rather than assist them. It was a trick Katarina was infamous for.

He stood, and moved onto the bed to sit with her while she tossed and turned. Just as Elijah was about to enter her dream in an attempt to pull her out of it she began to scream.

"Elena!" He shook her, trying to physically wake her instead. Entering her mind could only do more damage at this point, he knew.

_Elena was dreaming, that much she knew when she realized she was walking out of Mystic Grill, just after saying goodbye to her friends, and before she knew it she was in her car driving. _

_Blackness overcame for a moment, and once her vision returned, she was pulling over…a strange man lying on the side of the road._

"_Wait…" she tried to say, but the words wouldn't come out. She tried to stop herself from getting out of the car but it was too late. She knew where this was going. _

_This was where she died._

_Before she could stop herself, she was standing before the man as he rushed to her, forcing his blood down her throat. She screamed and begged for him to stop, she did not want to be a vampire, she was all too familiar with where this would lead._

_She cried out for help and he knocked her to the ground, suffocating the life out of her, and as the air escaped her lungs, everything went black again._

He was going to call her name again when she suddenly relaxed, an odd smile crossing her lips. Curious, Elijah looked her over to make sure she was all right. When he saw nothing wrong, and she was sleeping peacefully again, he stood and went to approach his chair when he heard her stir again. Turning around, he watched as Elena slept still, but the veins around her eyes began to turn black.

"Elena?"

Her eyes opened, black as coal, and she smiled. Before the Original could react, Elena flew out of the bed, pinning him against the wall while pushing her body against him.

Not entirely uncomfortable with the contact, but remaining cautious…and equally as curious as to what was happening, he didn't push her off right away, but shifted his body so they weren't as close. Elena however, followed his movement, trapping him as she ran her hand in between his legs while staring at Elijah curiously with her enlarged black eyes.

"Elena…" he began to warn her as he shifted again, his words were caught however, when her lips locked onto his. In an instant he was stuck between the wall, and Elena's body, which while physically he enjoyed very much, he could not understand the action, and why her eyes had switched.

_Elena was in the hotel room with the man she called "Pet". She smiled as he stood before her, begging her for her body as her insides screamed for his blood. She first, pulled him closer, giving him a taste of what he wanted, making sure to tug at his lip just slightly enough to draw a drop of blood, her own way of teasing herself. When she got what she needed, she tossed his naked body down to the bed, allowing him to enter her as he pleased while she tasted his skin, and then bit him, enjoying the taste of his blood._

Elijah was no fool, he could tell something was wrong and even though he had accepted the kiss gratefully, considering for one moment that they shared similar feelings for each other he needed to stop her persistent advances. He grabbed her by the shoulders to push her off, but she was fast enough to pull him down onto the bed, and hop on top of him catching each protest with her tongue.

_Elena enjoyed the taste of her pet's warm blood travelling down her throat, even though some of it was leaking out of the side of her mouth, trailing down her cheek bones, she didn't seem to mind. She had him in her control and that made her flourish more than anything. _

_She broke off of him, her mouth still filled with his blood as she kissed him, and while she was sure he should have been dying…he pulled her closer as if enjoying the taste of his own blood in his mouth._

_Wait a second…_

Elijah had overpowered her, flipping her back to the bed as he held her down as bed as he could. Even though she was significantly weaker than he was, she had the advantage as she rubbed her leg against his inner thigh practically begging for him.

The Original was known to be a man of honor, that made him a man indeed, and a vampire. Regardless, Elijah was still a man, and even though he had only lost his concentration for a moment, Elena took advantage of him and turned the tables once again, now straddling him and laughing slightly as if she was enjoying the game they were playing. Slowly, she ran her tongue down the side of his neck, allowing her fangs to graze dangerously close to his jugular vein. Elijah grabbed a handful of her hair, while trying to grab at her neck in an attempt to not harm her and reluctantly tried to pull her off. The young vampire, however, took the motion the wrong way, quickly piercing his skin.

Elijah only allowed one other vampire to ever feed off of him before, and that was Mary Porter close to nine hundred years ago. It was not a common practice in the vampire culture despite the many myths and legends told. While he favored the feeling personally, his experience with Mary Porter had left him wary of trust. The veins were a sensitive spot to vampires naturally. He may have enjoyed it, as his body had shown as clear as day, he couldn't allow Elena to continue. He knew she was not herself.

He could feel his blood dripping down his neck as she drank, a euphoric feeling coming over him as he heard Elena let out a low groan, running her hand up his chest. She wanted more, he could tell. It was to her own dismay she would not get it.

_Enough._ Elijah pushed her away from him with a growl of his own in anger and frustration. The young vampire snarled, going back at him and grabbed his chin with her thumb and forefinger, glaring in disapproval. Staring into the black pools of her eyes, he realized he didn't stop it soon enough. Elena wasn't staring at him, she was staring at someone else, she was in a dream.

She watched him carefully for only a moment, still blinded by the dream hunger she was experiencing, and soon the Original was able to take the chance and flip Elena back onto her back once again, hoping to end the game.

She still held onto him, around the neck now while he held her down.

"Elena!" He tried to get her to snap out of it. Elijah watched her intently as her eyes began to turn back to normal.

"Are you all right?" he asked, concerned and slightly embarrassed by their awkward position.

The young vampire stared at him blankly and without word or warning pulling his face down to hers, kissing him again. This time however, was different. This time his blood was still on her tongue, making it nearly impossible to resist.

Nearly.

Elena was still only partially lucid when she realized she was no longer traveling in a dream, but kissing Elijah.

To make matters worse, she was enjoying it, and she could feel that regardless of how hard he tried to fight her off, he did too.

_Wait a second…_

She had completely snapped out of her dream now, completely aware and capable, also humiliated by her actions as they both pushed away from each other. Elena ran to the opposite side of the room as they broke their contact, and he did the same by standing against the wall by his chair, both eyeing each other carefully.

"Elijah…Oh my god." She wiped her mouth, realizing it was covered in blood, and looked across to see where dry blood rested on his shoulder, the bite wound already healed.

"I am…so sorry!" Words could not describe how embarrassed she felt. "What happened? I thought I was in a dream?"

She noticed that Elijah was using the wall to hold his balance, all of his senses screaming at him that he had been attacked, that he should feel threatened.

Except he didn't. Instead, he considered the thought that he nearly took advantage of Elena. He should have known better, had his feeling for her actually gotten the better of him?

He snapped out of his moment of self-pity when he realized before him stood a petrified young vampire, who was covered in his own blood.

_Funny…usually it doesn't work this way._

"You were dreaming." He responded. "I think the memory of whatever you were dreaming about, threw you back into a blood crazed reenactment. I have seen it happen before, I'm sorry I should have realized."

He looked into her eyes sincerely, and he could tell she was more upset with herself than anything. He could see she expected him to be angry with her but he wasn't. In a way he found it fascinating, while equally shameful on his own part.

The two vampires stood on opposite sides of the room in silence, both unsure of where to go from there. Both were angry at themselves rather than each other.

Then Elijah's phone rang.

* * *

_**A/N: When I originally had written this chapter, I wasn't intending on going in this direction, but then...clearly I changed my mind. I know some people may hate it, so I feel I need to explain my reasonings (and by the way it was a reference to chapter five) behind the change. **_

_**I needed something powerful that would put Elijah and Elena in an awkward position, yet could bring them close together at the same time. I am hoping I succeeded here, and I hate having to explain what I write in a chapter, but here I thought it was entirely necessary. I really hope you guys liked it since it is a little...off so to speak ha ha  
**_

_**Please let me know!  
**_


	11. Suspended on Silver Wings

_Chapter Ten _

_Suspended on Silver Wings_

Elena was snapped out of her thoughts by Elijah's phone ringing.

Without taking his eyes off of her, he grabbed it quickly off the side table and stepped out of the room, disappearing down the stairs. She didn't try to listen, even though she was sure he was angry with her, he had left the room to give her privacy or to get both. In a way, she had hoped for both.

With a sigh and a feeling of complete failure, she began to organize the bedroom again. Luckily there was minimal blood, which meant that she ended up drinking most of it, and hardly anything out of place. While she was fixing the sheets on the bed, trying to distract herself, she could hear the Original begin to speak louder on the phone. It was mostly a mumble, but as she carried on with the mindless cleaning she heard his tone get louder.

"_WHAT?"_ she heard his voice boom from the bottom of the stairs.

Frightened, the young vampire plastered herself against the wall and she could feel her muscles scream as she heard Elijah run up the stairs and back into the room with a panicked expression on his face.

_"Elijah. The witches have demanded a kill order on Katherine Pierce. They are coming here to find her."_

Elijah knew what that meant as he hung up the phone with Yasmine. The witch could never lie to her coven about seeing her, and hearing about her still being in the town. They would not stop until they found who they would think to be Katarina Petrova but really it was Elena Gilbert.

He had almost crushed his phone in his hands as he hung up.

_Elena…_ he had to help her.

With their most recent experience placed I the back of his mind for now, he ran up the stairs with a blood bag in hand for her.

As he opened the door, he didn't expect to see Elena as she was, her body pressed against the wall. She was frightened.

He approached her slowly, with the blood bag in his hand, but she didn't seem to notice it.

"Elijah please!" she begged, "I don't know what happened!"

_She thinks I'm angry with her… _he realized.

"Elena…it's all right. Please stop this." It was his turn to beg now as he extended his hand to her in peace. She eyed him carefully as she accepted the bag, draining it without removing her eyes off of him once. Once she had finished, he noticed that she seemed more relaxed, but was still wary. It was as if they had gone back to stage one again.

"Elena I'm not angry." He soothed, "You've been keeping that part of you reined in after the Salvatores. Your body was most likely drained."

He took her hand and led her back over to the bed and sat next to her.

"How can you be so forgiving?" she began, "I…I kissed you."

He noticed she wouldn't look at him, as if she was ashamed.

"It's fine Elena, you had no control of your actions. Besides we have much more important matters to discuss."

Secretly, in the back of his mind, it wasn't okay. Not in the sense where he was angry with her for kissing him. He was angry at himself for allowing it to happen, and hurt by the fact that she looked so ashamed. He couldn't tell yet if she was ashamed of her kissing him, or of her loss of control in the first place.

"What happened?" she looked to him nervously.

"We need to get you out of here. It seems the witches have issued a kill order on you once they realized the Salvatores couldn't get the job done." He spoke with an odd sense of pride, knowing that once again he had prevented them from killing Elena Gilbert.

The young vampire's eyes widened in fear as she shot to her feet.

"What?" she cried out, beginning to panic.

Elijah nodded gravely, not wishing to upset her more.

"Please relax. You will be fine." He tried to get her to calm down, but even he wasn't confident. Witches could be ruthless, they wouldn't just stop with Elena. They would kill him too for protecting her and that would mean his entire bloodline would go with him.

He knew Elena didn't believe him when he told her it would be okay, she could see it all over his face that he had doubts of her survival.

"I'll just turn myself in." she decided, "That way they will never know you helped me either."

* * *

Damon had called Elijah five times without any luck.

"He's not answering! Can't he at least pick up the phone when we are trying to help him?" he was beginning to get aggravated.

"Stefan, how much longer until we are in Mystic Falls?"

"Just another hour Damon. We are going to have to have Bonnie get in touch with him through magic. He needs to get Elena out of there."

The brothers drove in silence for the rest of the hour long drive until they made it to Mystic Falls, both of them wondering exactly why Elijah wasn't answering his phone in the first place.

They went straight to Bonnie's home, not expecting to see a stranger sitting at her table when they approached the screen door.

"Uh…Bon?" Damon called for the witch, who hadn't invited them inside her home.

"She's been locked up in her room on the phone all day." The young man answered casually.

"Yeah uh…who are you?" Stefan spoke up, scanning him for a sign of threat. He had no reason to trust this human, but having not been invited into the witch's home made it nearly impossible to confront him.

"All right kid, come here." Damon summoned.

"My name is Corey." He mumbled as he stood.

Damon recognized the name. Bonnie had thrown it in his face the instant Elena began to date someone new.

"Yeah…I've heard of you." He waited until he was standing in front of him to continue.

"_Now…Bring Bonnie downstairs please._" He compelled Elena's ex-boyfriend.

Stefan rolled his eyes as he began to walk up the stairs to Bonnie's room, and set himself on the steps, expecting it to take a while. The witch wasn't one of the least stubborn people he knew.

It didn't take long for Corey to come back down the stairs, Bonnie not far behind him.

"You guys can come in." she invited them in as she went to sit in her living room. She seemed completely distracted by her thoughts, making the brothers uneasy. They needed a witch with full concentration in order for her to cast any magic.

"I see you two met Corey. Corey, this is Stefan, and Damon."

Corey's expression changed the instant the brief introduction was made, instantly with distaste he replied, "Yeah? I've heard of you two." He crossed his arms over his chest, making both brothers wonder what Elena had told him.

"Yeah? I'm sure it was all good things." Damon sneered, passing a grin towards Bonnie.

"Let's just leave it that she didn't exactly speak highly of you two." He retorted, "In fact, she said the only person she missed besides her two best friends was some dude Elijah."

Bonnie's expression changed, as she raised her eyebrows in disbelief.

"Okay!" she clapped her hands, preparing to have to break up a fight that she could see all over the vampires' expression, was about to happen. "Corey, why don't you give us a minute?"

He nodded, not taking his eyes off the two brothers, and walked outside to go sit in his car.

"He insists on helping find her. Apparently he is staying with family, don't ask…because I really don't know." Bonnie quickly explained the situation. "Now...you two tell me what the hell happened to Elena!"

Stefan took the liberties of retelling the story of Elena being attacked, how they thought they were going after Katherine, how they weren't sure how she went Ripper just yet and then ended with finding her in Elijah's home.

"Elijah?" Bonnie questioned, remembering Corey's remark. "He's helping her?"

Damon could tell the witch didn't like that arrangement one bit.

"We don't understand it either." He explained, "If you want my opinion, he's getting a little something on the side if you know what I mean, but anyway. You need to get a message to him. He's not answering his phone and we need to warn him about the witches."

Bonnie nodded, quickly grabbing a box she kept under her coffee table to prepare the spell.

"After this, I am going to keep trying to get in contact with Isla. Maybe she will listen if I can get through to her."

* * *

"Elena…I am not about to let you do that." Elijah spoke sternly, he had put in as much as he had to help her get through her blood lust, he wasn't about to lose her now.

"Do you have any better ideas?" she asked, crossing her arms.

The Original hated that look she would get. It was a look she would give whenever she thought she had the upper hand, he had seen it one too many times while they would negotiate terms of their agreements.

"I do actually." He smiled at her defeated reaction, "You see, the witches will want to kill me as well…like you said. I'm an Original so it goes to say that I have connections where it matters. Besides…I will simply have to negotiate with them for your life, in return, they will get the man who is doing this. I am sure you are not the only one."

Elena's eyes widened in surprise as she placed a comforting hand over his, the contact at first, had even surprised herself. She had already figured out she cared for the Original, but she hadn't realized the extent until that moment, his forgiving eyes and instead of scolding her for what she had done he simply…understood.

He understood her.

"You really thought this ahead didn't you?" she pointed out, her hand tightening around his own.

Elijah nodded,

"I had a feeling they would catch up eventually. It was only a matter of time. There is, however…one thing."

Elena raised her eyebrows, now wondering if she should question her decision.

"We need to return to Mystic Falls."

"Why?" That was the last place Elena wanted to go to. After everything that happened to her, she doubted she would ever want to return again.

"My sources have told me that Alexander is there, and if the Salvatores fail to find him, I need you to recognize him." Elena nodded in understanding. She didn't like the idea of returning to her home town, but she trusted Elijah's judgment, sometimes over her own.

"Elijah…why are you insisting on helping me? I came into your town and turned your entire world upside down. I am putting your life at risk!" she looked deep into his eyes, as if searching for the answer he wouldn't speak aloud.

He only smirked, bringing her hand to his lips, where he placed a gentle kiss on her knuckle. The gesture startled Elena, but not in a bad way. She knew Elijah was always a gentleman, this form of contact was casual for him.

It's not like he was courting her.

"Sometimes, my lovely Elena, someone's world needs to be turned upside down in order for them to see the light."

The young vampire smiled warmly, hoping to forget everything that had happened between them not long before, even though a part of her wanted to remember as well.

"So…when do we leave?" It had been six years since she had seen Elijah before these past few months, and when she should be questioning his decision, she knew what he had done for her. He had saved her life once against all odds, and six years later he took her in without any question or thoughts about his own well being. How could she not trust him?

* * *

Elijah always had a plan, and this time was no different. He hadn't expected everything to fall into place so soon, but it was fine. He could work under pressure.

"We leave in an hour." He told her, he made it a point to sound confident this time. There was no need to stress out the young vampire.

"Oh and we are going to fly." He stating, watching her reaction, "It's much faster."

"But more people…" Elena argued looking away. After her last blackout, he was sure she didn't trust her own self control.

"Don't worry, I'm not about to let anything happen. I'll be prepared this time around. Promise." He passed her a half smile as he stood, placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"Even if I have to tie you to the seat."

* * *

As the hour passed, Elijah packed a few things and noticed his phone on the end table where he had almost crushed it. Opening it he saw eight new messages, all from the Salvatores. Before even getting to listen to the voicemails, and as if on cue, he felt a piece of paper scrunch up in his pocket, which he rarely used. Opening the crumpled parchment slowly, he read;

_The witches are on their way to you. Get out._

_-Bonnie_

The Original rolled his eyes as he began to dial Damon's number. He had always made it a point to save it in case something like this were to happen.

"_What perfect timing Elijah. I see you got Bonnie's message? Sorry if we…interrupted anything by calling."_

Of course that's how Damon would answer the phone, so naturally Elijah had to go back at him. He was in no mood to defend his actions…or inactions.

"If only you knew Damon. It seems you two are late to the party, my witch already let me in on their visit. We are leaving shortly for Mystic Falls. I'm sure you will have Alexander by then?"

Damon grunted something inaudible on the other end and then cleared his throat.

"_I guess that means we should clear a room?"_

"Oh god no. I wouldn't put Elena through that. I will be taking her to a hotel outside of town." He replied quickly, sounded offended that would ever need their hospitality.

Damon grunted again, and hung up the phone.

* * *

Elena couldn't deny she was frightened. After all, she had just lost control not long before and Elijah was already taking her out in public, on a plane nonetheless. People can't run from a crazy murderous vampire on an airplane.

_Elijah is never reckless _she told herself, now beginning to feel the pressure. When she was growing up she never had to worry about disappointing anyone, now the thought of disappointing the Original broke her apart more than anything.

"Are you all right?"

She had been so deep in thought, Elena hadn't noticed he had returned, with more blood in hand.

"Yes, just thinking." She smiled as he handed her one of the two bags.

The Original sat down next to her, watching her intently as if trying to read her mind.

"I don't think I need to tell you think again, but in case I do…I give you my word that you will be fine."

"Elijah, it's not just that. What I did to you…I know you said it could happen but…" she trailed off.

_Why did it have to happen like that?_

Was what she wanted to say, but in her own strange terms, she couldn't put words to how she felt about him yet. What had happened between them had thrown her a curve ball that she wasn't prepared for. It was painfully obvious that she cared for him, after all, that was probably the reason it happened in the first place. Evert since the first night he appeared in her home to negotiate with her she knew. No one had ever done that for her before, she was never trusted to make her own decisions.

It was that night that she realized she was stuck in a bad place between the Salvatores, he had shown her that at least, even though she never got out until it was too late. She had become selfish and refused to decide between the two brothers.

Elijah had given her that option again, to get out while she still could. There was no doubt in her mind, she cared for him deeply and that feeling was growing rapidly which scared her the most.

"…But what Elena?" Elijah had tapped her on her shoulder to snap her out of her thoughts.

"But…" she couldn't find the words to say.

_I think it was more than that._ She had wanted to say again, but she couldn't. Instead, she found herself wrapping her arms around his neck, pulling him close. At first, she had expected him to back away, after all, how could he want her close to him after what she had done? Surprisingly enough, however, she could feel him relax into her embrace and gently place his hand on the small of her back.

"Thank you Elijah." She whispered, "I know I have said it many times, but I don't think I could possibly say it enough. You have done so much, and for that I owe you everything I have." The young vampire could feel him smile as he pulled her even closer than before.

"Elena… the only thing I want in this life is for you to be safe, and to live to the best of your abilities."

She broke from him for a second, looking him in the eyes. Had this been yesterday, the contact between them could have worried her, it would have made her feel awkward. For some reason, it was as if they were comfortable with each other now, as if they had been there…and done that.

She could have kissed him then, in a way, she wanted to, but she couldn't build the courage.

_Only time will tell._

* * *

They needed to leave in order to make their flight on time. Elena had found it amusing that with only an hour to spare, the Original was able to get two plane tickets seated together, a rental car to pick them up, and a hotel room.

Elijah did his best to keep the young vampire calm when they got on the plane. She swore she hated being up miles in the air, but he knew she was wary about being around people again.

"You'll be fine." He whispered as she plopped herself at the window seat.

"I really hate flying." She grumbled, sinking into her seat.

"I'm sure that's all it is" he joked, but he caught her jumping as the plane began to take off.

"Why don't you close your eyes, and breathe? It's only about an hour and a half flight." He offered, luckily for them, the seat next to Elijah was empty, he bought a third ticket just in case, but he didn't tell Elena that.

"Next time, I'll get first class, a lot more room." He smiled, looking over to Elena, who had her head rested back and her eyes closed.

"Next time?" she laughed, which instantly made Elijah want to take his words back, she had never said anything about staying with him, or if she would even fly back with him after this is over with. There were no promises of a future between them after all.

However, he relaxed the instant she continued.

"Next time…we drive."

* * *

_**I want to thank everyone for their reviews and to all of you anons out there thank you as well!**_

_**Next chapter you may or may not see some Elena/Elijah close up scenes ;)  
**_

_**After this chapter there are only two more, and then the epilogue so I hope everyone enjoys this! Please review!  
**_


	12. See Who I Am

_**Chapter Eleven**_

_**See Who I Am**_

Elena awoke as the plane began to land, an hour and a half later, to see she was resting her head on Elijah's shoulder, his arm wrapped protectively around her body.

"We're here?" she shot up nervous, the last time she had fallen asleep she had practically tried to have sex with the Original.

"Don't worry Elena. You actually slept peacefully." He reassured her, as if knowing what she was thinking as he stood to grab her carry on once the plane stopped.

Once they got off the plane, a man was already waiting for them with the car and Elijah took the keys before opening the door for Elena. Once he sat down in the driver's seat, he remained still for a moment, watching her closely.

"Are you ready?"

She nodded, looking out the window as they began to drive towards Mystic Falls.

During their moments of silence, Elena would catch herself closing her eyes to try and get time to pass, that way she could contain her thoughts and relieve her worries. She remained that way, just thinking about the past and then of course about her future. Elena couldn't decide if she was going to go back to school, or, if she was welcome, maybe even stay with Elijah, which seemed to be the awaited burning question.

_That's if we even get out of this alive…_

They pulled up to the hotel just outside of Mystic Falls about an hour later, and when Elena got out of the car she was already in awe of the building. She watched as Elijah passed the key to the valet and she saw him pass the man a hundred dollar bill as well.

"Generous much?" Elena laughed as he offered her his arm.

"I do try." He returned , giving her a half smile as he led her to the door.

* * *

In no time at all, Elijah got the key card from the receptionist and brought they were in the room. Everything seemed like such a blur and nearly surreal for Elena, it was all happening all at once.

"This is a lot nicer than what I'm used to." The young vampire mused, spinning into the center of the room where she noticed a large king size bed was set.

"No worries Elena. I have no intentions on sleeping tonight." Said the Original when he saw her note the bed, "I meant of course, that the bed is yours."

Elena smiled and saw the small couch I the corner of the room where a makeshift den had been set up with a flat screen television was set on the wall.

"Are you sure? I can sleep on the couch, " she offered, watching him as he put her suitcase down.

Elijah only laughed, seriously considering that she may have been joking, the thought hadn't even crossed his mind.

"You know that won't happen Elena." He walked over to her and brushed a lock of hair behind her ear, watching her intently as she smiled.

"I tried." She shrugged, placing her hand over his as it remained on her cheek.

* * *

Damon and Stefan had been on the hunt for the so called "Alexander" for the entire night and they were both coming up empty.

"Do you think Bonnie is having better luck?" Stefan asked his brother, who only shrugged.

"Anything right now is better than what we've got."

Damon stopped and pulled over as his phone began to ring.

"Oh look who it is, my favorite Original." He answered his phone.

"_Did you find the vampire?"_

"No. We can't just make him magically appear you know." The older brother snapped. "How is Elena?"

"_Elena is doing quite well Damon. We will head to you by morning, then you can see for yourself that she is still in one piece." _Elijah paused for a moment, expecting some kind of sarcastic remark, and Damon could practically hear him smile when he didn't get one. _"I hope you will have Alexander by then. If you have any problems, have Bonnie contact Yasmine. She cannot know about Elena, however. Do you understand Salvatore?"_

* * *

When Elijah stepped out of the room to use the phone, Elena took the opportunity to go through her suitcase, where she found she hadn't packed for company. It was beginning to get late and she had only packed a turquoise nightgown. After all, she remembered she was only supposed to be In Mystic Falls for one night and since she turned she would end up sleeping in whatever she had on, if she had anything on at all and she wasn't about to sleep naked tonight. Awkwardly, she threw the nightgown on, it barely reaching her knee and prepared to wrap herself up in a blanket when Elijah came back into the room looking more pensive than usual.

"What happened" she asked, forgetting about her ensemble for a moment, that is, until she caught Elijah's eyes scanning her body then instantly averting his gaze.

"Your Salvatores as usual. We are going to have to meet them tomorrow morning." He walked over to the couch, quickly turning his back to her and sat down, turning on the television. She knew it was not so that he could watch it, Elena hadn't taken him to have much use for a lot of modern technology, but more for a distraction.

From what she didn't know.

Gathering the comforter around her body, she waddled over to him and plopped down on the love seat next to him.

"Definitely not enough space or you to sleep." The young vampire laughed, acknowledging the size of the couch. "It is my size though!"

She crossed her legs on the cushion, making sure to keep the blanket tight over her legs as she faced him.

"I already told you Elena, I don't intend on sleeping." He sat against the arm rest of the couch, facing her as well.

"Fine then. Neither do I." She crossed her arms stubbornly as Elijah shook his head and smiled, she knew she had won that battle.

* * *

The two vampires sat on the couch, watching the television, but neither of them paid any attention as they watched each other carefully out of the corner of their eyes. Elena began to wonder what he was thinking about, and if maybe it was similar to her own thoughts. She could have asked him, but she didn't want to push the matter and make the already somewhat strange situation, even stranger for both of them. She enjoyed his company too much to allow something trivial like her own emotions ruin it, even if she did want to curl into his arms and forget her troubles as she subconsciously had done on the airplane. Elijah had a way of calming her in a manner no one else ever could and that made her want to be close to him even more. All she wanted was to feel safe, but she didn't know if he felt for her enough to give her that.

_Only one way to find out. _She thought, preparing herself for a bold move she had only used during an extremely drunken night while in college to get rid of a man that had been begging her to sleep with him. Without much forethought, Elena rolled herself (due to the comforter) closer to Elijah as he caught her in his embrace with ease.

"Elena, what are you doing?" he asked surprised.

"Can I…test a theory?" She curled into his body as he put his arm around her, making her feel more comfortable already, even if she was surrounded by a ton of blanket she managed to feel safer. She could tell he was still confused, but he allowed the contact regardless, showing her he wasn't uncomfortable with their situation.

"If that is what you wish Elena." He stated coolly. As if taking the cue, Elena placed her hand on her jawline, leading his face down to hers.

"Are you sure?" she asked into his lips, she knew she was moving fast and although she expected the usually calm and collected Original to back away from her, but instead he only whispered,

"As long as you are."

Their lips connected and while she had expected to pull away from him by then, she found she couldn't. He had to do it for her.

"Elena…" he began, holing her face in his hands, "Why are you doing this?"4

She frowned and understood his confusion, but silently cursed at his need to always understand what was going on.

"I just wanted to see something." She spoke in a whisper, her hand still resting on the back of his head.

"And what was that?"

She didn't want to talk, she wanted to kiss him again and relish in his touch, but she decided the only way she was going to get that would be to dignify him with an answer.

"When I kissed you…last time I mean…you kissed me back, I remember that much, I just wanted to know if it was all the same." She paused for a moment, unsure of his reaction and he just looked to her, his eyes shining in curiosity, and borderline embarrassment.

"I'm not sure I understand what you are asking of me Elena."

The young vampire pursed her lips, trying to bite back the urge hit him now, and separated herself from him.

"You allowed me to kiss you. You didn't stop me, well…you did…but I don't know. I guess I'm rambling."

Elijah set himself back into the couch, his hands now resting uncomfortably in his lap as he continued to eye her carefully.

"Elena, are you asking me if I have feelings for you?"

The question had come out sharp like a knife through her skin. It set her thoughts back, and in his own unintentional way, he had hurt her more than expected.

"Maybe." She shrugged, now unsure. "I don't know. My head is such a mess Elijah." She shook her head violently as he steadied her with his hand on her shoulder again, this time placing his thumb over her lip, tracing the outline of her frown.

"Elena, maybe I was just waiting for you to move off of the Salvatores. Maybe I had hoped you would have done so sooner, or that we would have run into each other if you did choose to leave Mystic Falls." He pointed out, once again, catching her off guard with his words.

"Well, you are six years overdue then." She relaxed her head into his hand as he pulled her closer, allowing her to rest into his shoulder and placed his legs over his.

"Is that why you helped me?"

Elijah turned back to her, in surprise.

"No Elena. I helped you because you deserved it." He sounded hurt by the accusation.

"So it had nothing to do with any buried feelings for me?" The young vampire, seeming blunt, still needed to pay homage to the elephant in the room. Elijah only shook his head.

"I helped you because I know you. I knew who you were before all of the happened. I had no choice in the matter, I had to give you the chance you deserved. It would have killed me to do so, if there was no helping you, I would have killed you as I promised Elena, over my years as a vampire, I have learned that sometimes you need to put your emotions aside, as they can be your greatest weakness." He had attempted to brush the disbelief from her face, but she wasn't about to budge. "My own feelings are not nearly as important to me as the potential for you to live your own life Elena. I hope that you can understand that."

Elena was surprised by his words, all of this time, and all of these years she had always considered him cold and aloof, which is why she had brushed the thought of her feelings for him away long ago when they first became allies. She had found his statement of never making the same mistake again to be true, or so she had considered. Meanwhile everything else he had said meant it all. He was just a patient man, waiting her out, just like the night outside of the lake house, the night that she had daggered him.

Now she was beginning to see the truth in him, their similarities were as plain as day and she knew she was right with him. Only someone with the option of having her forever would let her go, just so she could live her life, truly cared for her. All of this time she had wanted to fall in love with him, the feeling was always there deep inside, buried even at her young age of seventeen she just didn't have the courage to embrace it.

Now was a different story. Now, she just needed him. Touching his face, she brought her face to his and kissed him again, allowing his energy to flow through her as if she was sucking the life from him.

"Elena…you should know, I may not be willing to stop." He warned her as he moved the blanket off of her body, exposing her skin.

"Elijah, you should only know that I want you, and right now that is all that matters."

Now free from the confines of her emotions and the blanket, Elena moved herself over onto his lap to straddle him against the back of the couch as she ran her lips down his jawline.

_We could die…I could die tomorrow. _She kept thinking to herself. She needed this, this one last moment of closure if that was going to be the case.

"Elena…I will not have you use me." He scorned, swiftly moving her so her back was to the couch seat. It was as if he heard her thoughts, even though she knew he hadn't. "I value you too much for that."

Elena frowned again, now offended by the thought.

"Elijah, I may not know where I will be after all of this is said and done, but I do need you to know that I have been holding onto this, "she touched his hand, pulling him down so he was closer to her again, "for six years as well. You ran through my veins Elijah. It took me dying to have the courage to see if what this is between us is real. I could have searched for you, and I wanted to. I had no idea where you went, I was only filled with the stories from Damon and my brother after all. I had no idea it was even you who saved my life, I didn't know it was you who cared enough to let me go, but I always held on to the thought that you were better than that. Now I know I wasn't wrong." She pulled him down even closer to him, placing another kiss on his lips which he accepted this time without a hint of hesitation. "I am drawn to you Elijah. Always." She whispered into his lips and she could have sworn he heard him whisper the words "Forever" in return, but it didn't matter.

Nothing seemed to matter anymore besides each other, as his mouth, his hands and his body collided with her, only for her to enjoy as she ran her hands along his shirt undoing each button with care while her mouth was distracted with his own as he pressed himself on top of her bringing her to gasp as he lifted her off of her back, against him again while toying with the straps to her night gown, moving them down to expose her breasts which he took kindly in each hand. She burrowed her head into his neck with a low moan, pulling him closer by the hips and she began to kiss him neck, leading to his chest as she pushed his back to the couch again.

"Maybe we should relocate." He growled into her neck as he wrapped her legs around his waist, standing up without breaking a new kiss that he had locked her in.

* * *

The next morning, Bonnie spent her time on the phone with any witch that would listen, each call failed no matter how hard she begged however, nobody seemed to be willing to help the witch to save a Ripper vampire, even though she had once been a friend.

Witches could be relentless.

"You are too late child. Let it go." Isla had told her, "Do not discuss this any further."

Entirely defeated, Bonnie first called Damon, who instantly told her to contact the witch Yasmine.

"She may be able to help, and Bon try not to worry, we will be right over and hang tight. I'm sure she will be fine. They'll understand."

* * *

"Was that Bonnie?" Stefan asked his older brother as he packed a small duffel bag with stakes.

Damon nodded, distracted as he took his phone out again.

"I wonder why we haven't heard from Elijah yet. They should be here by now." He still didn't trust the Original, and him being alone with Elena had made matters even worse. Stefan, however, only shrugged, not seeming concerned with their absence.

"I don't understand why you let this whole situation get to you Damon. It's been six years since you have actually seen her other than the other day." He attempted to reason with his brother, "You are just going to go down that same path all over again. Is it really worth it?"

Damon rolled his eyes, preparing himself a glass of bourbon, it had to be five o clock somewhere after all, right?

"We are also not having this conversation brother."

He took a swig of his beverage and slammed the glass down on the counter when he heard tires squealing to a stop in front of the house.

"Sounds like they are here." Stefan walked towards the door to greet them but as he got closer, with Damon not far behind him, the door blew off the hinges knocking both Salvatores to the ground as it blew forward.

"What the-" Damon cursed as he brushed himself off. Once his vision focused and the scratch on his face healed he found himself staring at Elijah, who looked worse for wear to say the least.

"Uh…what are you doing? We have a doorbell you know."

Before he could say more, the Original was standing before him, his hand wrapped tightly around his neck.

"Stefan, do tell me you have found Alexander." He spoke smoothly, not allowing his anger to show as his eyes bore into Damon's skull.

"No…not yet." He responded, carefully circling the Original.

"Where is Elena?" Damon choked, pulling on Elijah's hand that wouldn't budge.

"They took her" he snarled, tossing the oldest Salvatore across the room. "The witches came this morning and took her!"

* * *

_**Next chapter will be a long one, and technically the final chapter to the story with a short epilogue at the end :)  
**_

_**Also, don't worry there will be a flashback in the next chapter so don't take the pitchforks out just yet!  
**_

_**As always, let me know what you think! I love to hear feedback :)  
**_


	13. Stand My Ground

_**AN: All right everyone this is the final chapter! For those who have asked, I haven't really thought about making a sequel to this, the way I am ending it is pretty finalized. No worries! (you may all hate me though. I apologize now!) I want to thank everyone who took the time to read/review etc etc etc You have no idea how much I appreciate it and I hope to hear some feedback on my upcoming story and the current one that I am working on :)  
**_

_**Anyway, enough babbling ENJOY! (I hope you do!)  
**_

_**Ps...I am going to apologize now for any grammatical errors, I only reviewed half of it but I needed to upload it ASAP lol  
**_

* * *

_**Chapter Twelve**_

_**Stand My Ground**_

_"Elijah?" the Original smiled, breathing in the scent of Elena's hair as she slept on his bare chest._

"_Yes Elena?" he looked over to the clock, it was only seven in the morning, they still had time before heading to the Salvatores'._

"_What did you do?" she paused, as if contemplating what to say next, "I mean…after the incident with Rebekah…" _

_He could tell Elena didn't want to ask, but the question had been sitting there since she had first become lucid._

"_Well…I traveled a bit, took care of a few…more personal matters, then decided to settle in Georgia oddly enough." He explained. He didn't want to talk about the past, however, he had too much to worry about for the future._

"_Mmm." The young vampire sighed, turning into him as she wrapped her arm around his waist._

"_What about you, Elena?" he asked. "Do you intend to finish school?"_

_She turned to him sharply, her brow furrowed._

"_I haven't really considered it." She answered listlessly. She placed a light kiss on his chest, leading Elijah to digress. "I was hoping we could…not worry about that right now."_

"_Of course Elena," he replied as he continued to run his fingers through her hair, enjoying her company as always._

_The two remained silent for a while, Elena, wondering what will happen with the witches while Elijah, worrying just as much with the witches, was concerned about Elena's future, but not because of the impending threat, more because of the life she had left behind._

"_Elena, I think you should go back to school after this." He could feel her tense in irritation. "To California I mean."_

_Quickly, the young vampire shot off of the bed, wrapped up in the top sheet and stared at him in anger._

"_You told me not to use you…yet you are telling me to go away?" she cried out._

_Elijah bit his tongue, ready to take the words back the instant she had calmed down._

"_It is your decision to make Elena, I am simply giving you my opinion."_

_The vampire set herself on the edge of the bed and looked to the wall, deep in thought._

"_I think I want to stay…" she whispered slowly, "Until, or if, I get on my feet again, would I be able to stay with you?"_

_Elijah nodded, making sure to catch her glance as he did so. He had spent the past six years alone and in his own solitude, yet now he couldn't imagine the halls of his home to be quiet after the past two months he had experienced with her._

"_As long as you need Elena. You know that."_

* * *

Elijah had allowed his thoughts to wander as he drove to Bonnie's.

"_What do you __mean__?" Damon yelled, now approaching the Original, his eyes burning with fury. "All you had to do was keep her SAFE! Was that so difficult?"_

_Elijah had to choke back each emotion he held in order to avoid showing his distress._

"_I made them a deal. Elena, for Alexander. They took Elena and have given us until midnight to find the vampire that turned her." His voice was dangerously icy, causing both Salvatores to step off of him._

"_We need to get to Bonnie's…now." Stefan commanded._

* * *

They arrived in separate cars luckily for the Salvatores, as Elijah was sure Damon's whining would have sent him over the deep end.

The Original followed a step behind the brothers as they walked to the Bennett witches door, who had opened it as they approached. She looked frazzled, which was probably from the Salvatores explaining what had happened on their way over. She glared at Elijah, showing that she, just like the brothers, blamed him for what happened.

"I guess you can come in." she mumbled before he stepped through the thresh hold.

"Thank you." He replied, sliding through as he scanned the room he saw a young man sitting on the couch.

"Oh that's Corey. Just ignore him." Damon introduced.

Elijah, however, recognized the name and gave a nod to the college boy who had cheated on Elena. He was the reason she came back to Mystic Falls for her birthday.

The young man stood rapidly, however, startled and extended his hand.

"Yes. I'm Corey, who are you?"

Elijah ignored the hand shake, Corey's rude gesture of asking who he was putting him off, but replied simply,

"Elijah."

He could tell he recognized his name and wondered what Elena had said about him, unless he was just reading into it.

"I've heard of you." He clarified for the Original, "Elena actually spoke highly of you, unlike these two."

The words brought a smile to Elijah's memory.

"She told me you helped her once, and there was a time you were the only one who would, you were the only one she could trust."

* * *

_Elena…get dressed." Elijah directed the vampire as he also threw clothes on. A bad feeling washed over him and was soon clarified when he could hear voices coming down the hallway._

_The witches were here._

_Neither of the vampires had the chance to react after they got dressed before the door opened and Elena's body was plastered against the wall while an excruciating pain shot through the Original's head. Still able to stand, he began to stand again after being nearly floored by the pain. Elena's screams rang through his ears as he tried to rush at the witches._

"_Don't bother Elijah." A warlock spoke. "She is going to die."_

_The Original growled, now gaining the strength and concentration he needed to rush towards the group of witches, which he noticed now were a group of four. Three of them had been holding him down, while only one was needed to hold back the younger vampire._

_At least they came prepared._

_As Elijah began to rush towards the warlock, he was soon met with the fourth surge of power, which stopped him in his tracks._

"_What are you doing?" he heard a woman cry to the fourth witch as Elena snarled angrily from behind him, now free from their power. He could feel Elena run to the witch who had been holding her._

"_No!" The man cried out, as the scent of blood filled Elijah's nostrils. "Stop her!"_

"_If we do he will kill us!" another cried._

_The Original couldn't help but agree, however, he knew Elena's guilt if she knew she had killed a witch would be too great and he did not want to have her live knowing she had done something like that. It was something he would do everything in his power to avoid._

_His eyes, beginning to clear by the weakening power of the witch circle, focused on the angry vampire, who was feeding for her own survival._

This is not going to end well _he thought._

"_I will stop her, if you negotiate to my terms." He yelled over the screams of the draining witch. He knew he was begging for Elena's life at this point, it was unlikely the witches would trade for her if she killed one of their own._

"_Negotiate?" The warlock laughed, "I do not negotiate with vampires."_

_Elijah laughed, rushing the witch who had forgotten they did not have the power to hold him back any longer._

_He held the warlock by the throat as he slammed him into the wall with a laugh, matching his opposer's determination. _

"_Now, quickly before she kills your witch, I will trade you for her life, the one who turned her."_

_The warlock glared at the Original, but nodded weakly. He was still human, and cared about the life of his fellow witch._

"_Fine!" He choked and instantly Elijah ran to Elena and pulled her off of her meal. _

"_One catch though," the man smiled, watching Elijah head the witch with his blood. "She comes with us, you can bring her sire to us and we will do the exchange."_

_The Original looked to Elena, who's eyes turned back to normal._

"_I'll go." She whispered as she looked to him, "Make sure you get him."_

"_One thing first witch." Elijah placed a hand in front of Elena to stop her, "If you do not return Elena to me in her present condition, know that I will tear out each of your hearts and feed them piece by piece to your children….just for fun." _

_He could feel Elena tense as she pushed passed him once they nodded in fear._

"_You have until midnight tonight. If you do not deliver her sire, she dies, and it will not be an easy death."_

* * *

Bonnie had convinced Corey (which actually meant Damon compelled him-something he had been itching to do since he met him.) to leave town before they all set out for their destination, an old building just on the outskirts of Mystic Falls, not far from where Elena's first kills had been.

Elijah, meanwhile, who was becoming impatient, had finally heard from Yasmine, who called to tell him where they were going to meet the witches to offer Elena's sire.

"Elijah, be careful." She warned, "I can't imagine them making it easy for you."

They arrived at what used to be an old nursery school, but currently it was an old dilapidated building that smelled of asbestos and paint peeling off of the walls. Elijah, to his own distress, ended up pairing with Damon when they agreed to separate, each group taking their own half of the building.

"What the hell is this place?" Damon wondered aloud as he walked down an empty hallway with the Original.

"Not sure, but someone went on a killing spree." Elijah shook his head, "I can smell the blood."

Damon made a noise that sounded like he was choking for a moment, as is mocking the Original for pointing out the obvious.

"This used to be a daycare of sorts during the olden days, " the older Salvatore recalled, "Strange place t make your slaughterhouse."

Elijah ignored Damon's observations, he was working his best to keep an eye open and his mind aware of his surroundings. He didn't know much about this Alexander and after his first surprise of the morning by the witches, he wasn't about to let something like that happen again.

Right now, Elena's life was at stake.

In his own solitude, he had picked up the scent of fresh blood coming from one of the classrooms farther down. Nudging Damon slightly, he placed a finger to his own lips to make sure he kept silent as he pointed in the direction of the smell.

"Get Bonnie." He mouthed, he began to protest, but realized the Original was right and turned back disappearing into the shadows.

Finally free of his own irritating shadow, Elijah carried on alone and silently. He may as well have been levitating had he kept his steps any lighter. Keeping his body against the wall, he found the source of the fresh blood. It was a young man who lay crumped on the ground, blood glistening over his face. Elijah kneeled next to him, turning him over to examine his back, which a knife, that was now missing, had severed his spine. Had he survived the brutal attack, the man would most likely never walk again.

"Shame…isn't it?" a low southern drawl came from behind him.

Elijah turned sharply and rushed the shaggy looking blonde man.

"Who are you?" he snarled, even though he already knew the answer.

This, was Alexander, who was now laughing in the Original's face.

"I guess it all depends on who you ask!"

Elijah looked into his eyes, each of them going in a different direction. The man was clearly insane.

While holding his body against the wall, Elijah took his cell phone out nonchalantly checking the time. Somehow, it was already six pm.

"Okay, so I have six hours to play with until I deliver you to the witches. So…where can I begin?"

He pulled the man into the classroom and sat him in a lone chair that looked like it had seen it's time.

"_Do not move" _He compelled the vampire. Alexander's eyes widened in fear, he hadn't realized who he had grabbed the attention of.

"You…you're an Original! I thought you all fled!" He stammered.

Ignoring the vampire, Elijah pressed on.

"_Do you know Elena Gilbert?" _

"Yes." His tone was flat. "Pretty girl, would have loved to have some fun with her. Horrible things she did though, only a monster would be able to do that."

A smile passed his lips as he struggled to move, Elijah's compulsion still holding strong.

"_Did you turn her?"_

"Yes. She was my first…successful experiment."

Elijah stepped back and walked over to the door to peer down the hallway. The others weren't nearby just yet.

In an instant he had returned to his investigation.

"_What do you mean…experiment?"_ He was prepared to rip the man's heart out of his chest, but unfortunately if he wanted Elena to return to him, he needed this vampire alive.

"I am trying to find out if their death is related to what kind of vampire they will become." He responded, his eyes glazing over. "It's brilliant really. I watched the girl for years in California. Funny how one act could turn someone so caring, so noble to something so…out of control. Don't you agree?"

Elijah couldn't resist punching Alexander-hard- across the jaw. He could have done so much more than breaking his jaw completely off it's hinge, but two sets of arms pulled him off before he could.

"Relax Elijah." Stefan ordered as Damon-stupidly so- placed himself between him and the vampire sitting In the chair as his younger brother pulled him back.

"What happened?" Bonnie had just entered the room as the Original began to collect himself again.

"He was the one who turned Elena." Replied Elijah, pointing towards the vampire.

"Apparently, he considers Elena to be an experiment, to see what makes vampires tick I guess."

Bonnie was about to speak up again, when there was a gasp for air behind her. The group turned to see the dark skinned man begin to rise, his eyes black with hunger as he lunged for the witch.

"Oh wonderful!" Damon turned as Bonnie stepped back, readying her magic. Both, however were caught by surprise as Elijah rushed through them quickly tearing the heart out of the newborn vampire and dropping it to the ground. Without thought, he took a handkerchief from his coat pocket and wiped the blood that dripped from his fingers while the others eyed him in fear, and in awe.

"So…where were we?"

* * *

Elena opened her eyes to darkness.

For a moment, she thought she was back in Elijah's basement, until she caught the scent of two witches, the sweet aroma of sage was faint and not to close to her.

The young vampire moved her arms, expecting to be tied to the floor but was surprised to notice she was free of chains. She ran her fingers across her skin, as if to make sure it was all in one piece, the tingling sensation reminding her that she was as alive as she could be.

"Hello?" she called out to the darkness as she moved her toes to stand. At first, she felt like her brain forgot how to use her feet but once she began to lift herself it all came back to her. She had never heard of vampires losing their feet or forgetting how to walk before, but ignored it as she carefully moved to the door.

"Hello?" she called out again, banging on the wall.

She heard a stir above her, and a light turned on above, revealing her surroundings.

"What the…"

Elena could see now that she was indeed underground and it seemed to be a cell with solid dirt for the ceiling, containing her. Subconsciously she felt around her neck for her daylight pendant, but it wasn't there.

"Great…" she huffed.

"What do you want vampire?" a man's voice growled on the other side of the door.

Elena could smell his blood, he had been hurt at some point.

"Elijah…" she whispered, now recalling what had happened, what she had done. "Let me out!" she began to yell, pounding on the door as she heard a low chuckle.

"Keep yelling vampire. Your Elijah isn't coming for you."

She could feel her hear fall, she knew he was lying. Elijah was a man of honor, and he cared for her…he would never leave her to die.

Bracing herself against the wall, she could sense something wasn't right. The dirt from above began to crumble above her head, it wasn't enough to suggest a cave in, but enough to catch her attention when she heard a low chant coming from outside the door.

"What are you doing?" she called out, running to the opposite side of the room. "Hey! What-" her cries were cut off suddenly, when her skin began to burn as the sun seemed to appear in the room with her.

Dropping to the ground, Elena covered her face quickly to avoid the rays, but it was no use.

She couldn't take the pain as she bit her lip, tasting her own blood. She began to writhe on the ground, screaming in agony as her flesh burned under the ultraviolet rays.

* * *

"We are here!" Damon called out. The group, consisting of three vampires and a witch, arrived in the designated clearing, the two Salvatores carrying the unconscious body of Alexander.

"We have your mad scientist right here!" Stefan announced as they tossed his body into the grass.

Silence ensured, only the sound of crickets emanated from the grass as well.

"They're here, relax." Elijah directed as he eyed the surroundings. He could hear the even thump of Bonnie's heartbeat, she wasn't nervous, but then he heard a second beat as well. This one was rapid, frightened even, and it was coming from behind them.

"You have a good ear Elijah." A woman uttered from the surrounding trees.

The Original turned slowly and smiled, used to witches and other supernatural creatures knowing his name, while he had no idea who they were.

"It comes with the territory."

Both Salvatores were by his side in an instant, dragging the still unconscious Alexander.

"Wait." Damon stopped them, "How do we know that she is here?"

The witch smiled and whispered something under her breath while Elijah could hear a strange rumbling from underneath his feet.

Bonnie moved to step closer to the opposing witch but the Original stopped her. He was able to hear a fain sound-a whimper- from below.

"What have you done?" he growled, "Where is she?"

The witch smiled, tilting her head to the side to allow her jet black hair to flow over her shoulders.

"She's safe…ish." She laughed, tossing Elijah Elena's daylight necklace, which he caught with ease.

"Make sure you hold onto that though. Now…to make him talk…"

She approached Alexander and smiled at his still form. "This should be easy."

"Not so fast." Damon cut in front of her. "How do we know Elena is alive?"

The witch passed a goofy grin as she began to whisper again.

The others looked at each other in confusion, when Elena's screams began to travel through the ground.

"Elena!" Elijah called to her, but the screaming didn't stop.

"Sorry Elijah." The witch laughed. "She is enjoying the…sun right now." She paused again, eyeing Damon. "I advise that you move"

Damon stepped aside, passing a worried glance to the Original, who nodded as the witch knelt next to the vampire. He couldn't hear her screams anymore.

"This will go against all compulsion." She warned, "So no funny business."

Bonnie nodded, recognizing the spell.

"If his words are in your favor, the Bennett witch will get your vampire. Do you understand?"

The group nodded, surrounding her and Elijah could feel the witch's anxiety heighten. She began to chant, but where the spell should have needed candles, this witch did not. He checked over to Bonnie, to see if she was taking notes.

"What did you do to the young vampire by the name of Elena Gilbert?" she asked, her hands on Alexander's temples, "Give me all the details."

The man laid in silence for a moment, his eyes closed as the others waited impatiently.

After a few moments, his voice rose, sounding as a chant through the clearing.

"I watch them, for their personalities. They are my test subjects to see if their human selves can be changed depending on how they are turned. The girl was my first success. She died slowly and was driven to the group of teenagers. That kill changed it all. It was truly fascinating. "

"There are others?" The witch asked nervously eyeing Elijah in disbelief.

"Yes…that man..I severed his spine to test how he would walk as a vampire. It's a shame I never got to see, there are so many possibilities."

Alexander's voice began to drift away as a smile crossed his lips while the witch stood, breaking the connection, she seemed accomplished.

"You can have your girl back. I will try and forget she nearly killed me, on one condition." She glared at Elijah as she spoke and he nodded for her to continue. She will be your responsibility from now on."

Damon made a strange sound from behind him as the Original agreed to the terms. At this point, he would agree on anything just to make sure she got out of there safely.

"I advise you keep your girl on a tight leash, "she threatened, and began to chant.

* * *

The sun stopped burning Elena's flesh as soon as she stopped screaming. She could feel the chunks of skin still boiling and popping as they began to heal.

She needed to feed, if she didn't, It would be likely she would not heal entirely from the damage.

The vampire crawled to the corner of her underground cell when she began to hear footsteps approaching, the familiar scent of sage, with a hint of chamomile wafting through her nostrils.

"Elena?" A familiar, strong voice called to her. She had secretly hoped to be hearing Elijah coming for her, but the voice –Bonnie- was just as perfect.

The door opened and Elena caught herself crawling against the wall. She didn't want to friend to see her like this as she covered her arms.

"Elena!" Bonnie cried out as she ran to her friend. "Are you all right!"

The witch went to grab her by the arm to pull her up, but noticed the blisters on her skin.

"You need to feed." Her friend realized and Elena nodded as she struggled to her feet.

"Where is…Elijah? The vampire panted out the words as the two staggered outside.

"He's here. The witches only let me through to get you."

Elena nodded weakly, she could smell the night air as they began to resurface, reminding her that she had no protecting from the sun.

"Elena!" she could hear the Original's voice not far from where she walked, the cool night air soothing the burned skin. Soon she was wrapped in his embrace and where she expected it to hurt, she felt relieved as she curled into his chest, trying her hardest not to cry.

"You'll be fine." He whispered, "We are all right here."

Elena nodded into his suit jacket as she heard him direct one of the brothers t get blood, and quick. She could no longer smell the sage, meaning Bonnie, and the other witch, had gone.

She was alone again, and Elijah, just as he had always been, was right there to catch her.

* * *

_**Two Days Later**_

Elena opened her eyes to the bright sunlight and scenery whizzing by. She touched her daylight necklace endearingly, entwining the chain around her fingers.

"That is a beautiful pendent." An old woman, who smelled strangely of cookies and mothballs, pointed out. "Is it a family heirloom?"

Snapping out of her daze Elena shrugged.

"It could be, a close friend of mine gave it to me recently." She whispered as she looked around at the other train passengers, all of them strangers.

* * *

_It was a rash decision, but Elijah understood._

"_I-I think you were right Elijah. I need to focus on myself."_

_She held onto his hand, not sure if she wanted to let it go, but she knew she had to. If she didn't do it now, she never would._

"_I know," he nodded, "Will you be flying? I will help you in any way I can."_

_She shook her head, as she could see it all over his face that he did not want her to go, even if he understood the purpose. _

_He told her he wanted this for her, she told herself._

_ The next morning her small amount of belongings were packed into his car and they were on their way to the train station. _

_The two drove in silence, and she wondered if he was angry with her, even though his expression was some what peaceful._

_When they arrived, he helped her gather her two bags and as she turned to board the train, he placed a hand on her shoulder._

"_Elena…if you ever need __anything__…anything at all, you know where I am and how to reach me."_

_She smiled, and turned her face from him, trying to push back the tears from her eyes, but they fell anyway into the palm of Elijah's free hand. He pulled her in for the much needed embrace, comforting her, even though she was the one leaving him. _

_She wondered if she would ever understand the Original._

"_I mean it Elena. I will always be here for you."_

_She couldn't express her emotions. She told herself to hate him, even though she had tried so hard she was unable to._

_He didn't do anything wrong. This was all on her, she was leaving him to go live…to go live the life he had given her._

"_Elijah…" she choked, looking him in the eyes. "Don't say that." She didn't deserve his kindness._

_He smiled to her again, now pulling the tie out of her hair._

"_Your eyes are red, I guess it's better than black, but the other passengers may become concerned." His own look of worry passed through his eyes, even though his own lips were curved into a smile._

_Elijah turned to walk away from her, causing Elena's life to crumble around her. _

"_Wait!" she grabbed his hand and pulled him back to her, allowing their lips to meet._

"_I am so sorry Elijah. And thank you…thank you for everything."_

* * *

"Miss?"

Elena jolted out of her thoughts by the elderly woman as the train slowed down at the next stop.

"This stop-Arkansas." The conductor announced over the speaker.

"I'm sorry, I zoned out." Elena immediately apologized.

"It's all right honey. All I said was that he must have cared about you a lot to give you something so personal."

Elena touched the necklace again, fighting the urge to cry as the memories of the past few months flashed through her mind.

"Yeah…he really did."

**-End-**

* * *

**_Author's Note: Or is it?_  
**

**_I have a short epilogue planned which will be up so put the pitch forks away! Tell me, what do YOU think will happen ;)  
_**

**_Please let me know what you think!  
_**


	14. Epilogue: You Ruined Me

_**Okay! Here it is! A nice short little epilogue for you guys. I tried to keep it short, so I apologize now if it seems a bit rushed but I think I made all of the proper points ;)  
**_

_**Enjoy and as always thank you so much for reading and reviewing! You guys are all so incredibly awesome!  
**_

* * *

_**Epilogue**_

_**You Ruined Me**_

It had been two years since Elena left, and Elijah's home still felt too quiet. Over time he found himself practicing the piano, something that he had let go a long time ago. He enjoyed the sounds and would reminisce to the times Rebekah would play for him, it was her own guilty pleasure that only they had shared. Running his fingers along the keys he found himself playing along with the rain pelting against the windows, the thunder rumbling outside and the sound of the fire crackling in the living room.

He could find peace living like this. After all, two years is a long time for a younger vampire and even though it could have been mere weeks to the thousand year old Original, he still felt the burn.

He had tried to push her away from his mind, just as he had done years before when he left her.

"I guess it happens to the best of us." He laughed to himself, drawing his own conclusion.

It was two days later, and the rain still fell.

_Who knew it rained so much in Georgia?_

Elijah sat in his office taking care of meaningless tasks on paper when the phone rang. The Original stood to answer it, but after one ring, it stopped. Nobody ever called him, not even the infuriating Salvatores to question the young vampires whereabouts, so it was no surprise that it would have been the wrong number.

Elijah sat back down and quickly finished the paperwork he needed to fill out in order to purchase a new property in Maine, figuring the farther up North this time around, the better.

He cleaned up the desk and made himself a cup of tea while reading by the fire. Life had become so boring and unimaginative since she had gone.

Over the torrential downpour, Elijah heard what must have been a car pulling up in his driveway, but nobody ever visited him so he brushed it off as thunder and rain playing their own songs in the night. He continued to read for a while until he heard a slight thump and while once again preparing to leave it as just the wind, a faint and steady tap was heard twice at the door.

This time, he stood up and consciously went to the door where he could sense another vampire on the other side.

Elena had not expected to see Elijah's look of surprise when he opened the door. She had been sitting in her car since she pulled into his driveway for ten minutes, debating on turning right back around and head towards Mystic Falls, but instead, here she stood in the pouring rain on his porch, her hair dripping wet, plastered against her face.

Yet Elena didn't care. She got to see him again.

"Elena?" his voice sounded almost too wary for comfort.

"Elijah." She wanted to smile, or cry…she couldn't figure out which one just yet.

"What are you-" he began, but the young vampire put her hand up, stopping him from saying another word.

"Shut up."

He raised an eyebrow, her bluntness surprising him.

"I need to get this out and so help me Elijah you are going to let me finish."

The Original nodded, crossing his arms over his chest and leaving his back against the archway. He motioned for Elena to come inside, but she shook her head in refusal.

When she saw he was listening now, she blurted out the first thing she could think of.

"I hate you Elijah Mikaelson."

Clearly, the ten minutes she had spent in the car, practicing her speech remained forgotten, and she was horrible at improvising.

She paused, seeing Elijah raise his eyebrows.

"That is what I told myself every single day." The words were beginning to pour out now, each emotion she felt for the past two years, maybe even the six years before that, finally surfacing.

"I wanted to come here and apologize to you for leaving. Each day I was in California I wanted to come back, and as I tried to force myself to hate you, I just couldn't do it. I found it impossible to forget about you." She knew she was rambling now, "Do you know how I got through these past two years? I convinced myself that you hated me, and while a part of me wonders if by telling me to go to school was your own way of saying you never wanted me in the first place. I thought maybe after the fact, you hated me even more for leaving, for being selfish, and maybe even taking you for granted if that was how you felt." She turned her face away from him, fighting back the tears. She couldn't look at him as she yelled over the thunder. There was no going back from here, and if she was about to show her vulnerabilities, she may as well go all in.

"Elena I-"

"No. I'm not finished." She choked out the words, but smiled as he sighed in defeat.

"Though, for the two years I was away from you, deep down I knew you didn't hate me, at least…that's what I thought at first. When you didn't call…you didn't come to drag me back…" she paused, looking into the sky, "It tore me in all different directions Elijah. I can't seem to figure any of this out. I can hardly keep my head on straight anymore. You know…I called you before I came, but I couldn't go through with talking to you. Yet I ended up turning down this street anyway. That's when I knew I had to do this." She paused again and took a step back, balking from him as if he had hurt her again.

"Can I speak now?" he asked quietly, the thunder pounding harder now.

She nodded slowly, as if to say she was done, even though she hadn't entirely finished her thought, she was prepared to give up.

"Hurry up before I change my mind."

Before she could argue, he pulled her inside, holding her close, allowing her wet clothes to stick to him as she accepted his embrace.

"Tell me, what is it you want then Elena?" he asked her, taking the scent of rain from her hair.

"I wanted to tell you…" she began to cry now, "that I am a fool. I was so stupid to think that what I did was okay." She was beginning to lose control again, her fake angry front that she had come at him so strongly with had been shattered by his touch.

"What do you mean?" he whispered as he led her into the living room.

"You-You were the one who showed me that something so dark…and evil could be something manageable. You showed me that there is a light at the end of the tunnel, and that there is good out there. I thought I needed to see it for myself, but I was wrong Elijah." She pulled onto his shirt to bury her face. "And you know…I never realized just how dead I was until I left you. You gave me life even after the horrible things I had done. " She pulled away from him to look him in the eyes, where she gave the Original the full effect of her sorrow, "For a while, I wondered if you had ruined me, maybe I was broken, but I knew that wasn't it. You were the one who saved me."

Elijah had to hold back all of his emotions that he had bottled up inside of him since she had left two years ago.

"You still haven't answered me Elena." He hadn't intended to sound so cold, he had wanted to comfort her, to show her she was worth the pain he felt for the time she was away from him.

"I just want to stay…" She hopped up, wrapping her arms around his neck now, "I feel…so complete with you Elijah. It's as if I know everything will be okay, as long as you are there, and as long as we are together."

The Original froze at her powerful words. He knew everything would be okay, because she made him feel the same as he did for her.

He knew she meant every single word.

Elijah smiled after a moment, knowing that he wanted her back with him more than anything in the entire world. He had never considered after spending a thousand years hardly with any companionship, that he would feel the way he does for someone like her.

"Elena…" he wiped a tear from her eye and kept his hand on her cheek. "Please stop crying."

He pulled her face closer to his and kissed where they streaked her skin.

"What are you doing?" she sniffed, without pulling away.

"Testing a theory, lovely Elena." He smiled into her ear as she rested her head on his shoulder, huddling closer.

"I need to be with you Elijah." She placed a kiss lightly on his neck, "Please tell me that you will have me."

Elijah lowered his lips to hers, kissing her tenderly now as if he never wanted to let go.

In a way, he was afraid she would run again, leaving him in the cold. His nature told him to push the girl away, _Give her a bed, and have her lie in it. _

He couldn't though, he was in love with her and instead of giving her a bed, he wanted to bring her to his own so he could show her just how much he needed her as well.

"Elena love, you know I wouldn't have it any other way."

They could do amazing things together.


End file.
